Miles Across the Universe
by MangaFreak15
Summary: Hikaru never made himself publicly known to the Go world, preferring to stay within the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.
1. CH 1: Fujiwara no Sai

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: This chapter consists entirely of Sai-Hikaru dialogue except for the ending.**

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><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across the Universe<span>**_

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><p><strong>I. Fujiwara no Sai<strong>

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><p><em>Can you see it?<em>

Who are you?

_Can you hear my voice? You can, can't you?_

Yes, I can.

_You can, you can! Almighty God, I thank you. I will now return … to the living world!_

Oh-

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><p>So what's your story? Who are you?<p>

_I am Fujiwara no Sai, a former Go tutor to the emperor in the Heian capital._

Heian capital? Go?

_Yes. I loved Go. I played it every day, and I was very happy. At that time, there was a second tutor to the emperor, who commented that there was no need for two tutors. We would play a game, and the winner would remain._

Who won? That other guy sounds like bad news.

_We played the game evenly. With everyone watching, it seemed a coincidence that only I saw it…_

Saw what?

_A white stone had been mixed into the black stones in his container. It is a rare case, but usually has no effect on the match since the opponent will give it back after the game. But he waited for the right moment, and added the stone to his captured stones._

He cheated! That sleaze-ball!

_When I started to speak up about it, he shouted loudly that he saw me cheat and add a stone to my captured stones. I tried to defend myself, but the emperor told us to continue the game._

Why that sonofa -

_With my mind still in shock from the accusation, I could not concentrate. I lost. I was branded a cheater and driven out of the capital. Deprived of my way of life, I no longer wished to live, and drowned myself two days later._

Err… so, uh, what happened after that?

_I wanted to play more Go. I wanted to attain the Hand of God. My spirit could not rest, for my desire was overpowering. I attached myself to a goban, hoping that someone would come along and find me. One day I heard a voice in the darkness, a child's voice that asked why he was the only one who could see the "stains that look so much like tears" on the board. I was able to play more go through him. His name was Torajiro. Later, he took on the name of "Honinbo Shuusaku."_

If you possessed someone else, how did you get back into the goban?

_Torajiro died young because of disease. I was forced back into the goban._

Must be his blood I saw on the goban, then…

_Yes. I waited and waited for a long time, but no one heard me._

Then I came.

_Yes._

What is the Hand of God you're talking about?

_In Go, it is the ultimate move. The perfect move in a perfect game._

Sounds weird. Are you still looking for it?

_Yes. If you will allow me to find it, I will be very happy._

Your story is pretty sad. I have no personal interest in Go, but since you'll be stuck with me I guess I could…

_Y-you will? Oh, thank you!_

It would probably also benefit you to teach me along the way, since I'll probably have no clue what you're doing.

_I will, I will!_

Great, now that's settled. Fujiwara no Sai, eh? My name is Shindou Hikaru. Let's find the Hand of God together.

_Yes!_

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><p>Wow, you're a really strong player. You completely trashed me!<p>

_I'm sorry, I'm just very happy to play go again._

I can tell you love the game. Heck, you died for it!

_Yes. Playing go creates a warm feeling in my chest, and I feel a rush of excitement. Every game is different. Even if my opponents are the same, they try different tactics, new moves, and it is a thrill to come out on top._

The way you describe your experience makes me excited too. I think I'm starting to like go, Sai.

_You are? Yay! If you keep playing, you'll become a very strong player, Hikaru._

Thanks, Sai. Maybe one day I'll be as good as you…

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><p>This is called a computer. You can play go on it.<p>

_Really? How?_

By creating an account, you can play go with other players who have accounts.

_Are the other people inside these boxes?_

No, Sai. Other people have computers that they use to play go.

_Let's try it, Hikaru! I want to see how it works!_

Okay, okay. Let's see, for our username…

**s - a - i.**

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><p>You're amazing, Sai! You haven't lost a single game since you possessed me.<p>

_Thank you, Hikaru. You have improved a lot since our last game._

You think so? I still can't beat you.

_You have been only playing me. Why don't you play with someone else?_

I guess it's worth a try. We can go visit a go salon later, okay?

_Yay! Thank you, Hikaruuuu!_

Ack, get off me! Sai!

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><p>Sai… these guys aren't even a challenge! Am I really that strong already?<p>

_See, Hikaru? You improved a lot!_

Yeah, I guess. Maybe I should become a pro… naw, I think I'm good like this.

_What about an insei? Zelda from the magic box said insei are professionals-in-training._

Well, I don't want the world to know about me yet… not until I'm really strong.

_You are strong, Hikaru. You should go._

No. Not yet, Sai. I don't want to go yet.

…_Alright._

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><p>Sai, what do you think? About that boy we met today, Touya Akira?<p>

_He is very strong for a player his age. I think he's stronger than you are, Hikaru._

He must have been exposed to go for longer than I have, then. I only started like a year and a half ago!

_I think he will become your rival in the future, Hikaru._

Really? Guess I have some training to do then. Let's go, Sai! Nigiri!

_Yes!_

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><p>Sai, I think we went a little overboard with the NetGo thing…<p>

_Why do you say that, Hikaru?_

Every time we log on, we're bombarded with a bajillion requests for games! I know you love go, Sai, but this is crazy! Man, I'm tempted to lay low for a while. What do you think, Sai? Should we stick to the traditional goban?

_If the magic box is as stressful as you say, then let's keep to the traditional goban. A real board is better to play on! Although I would have liked to play all those people._

They're mostly amateurs, Sai. None of them can match up to you.

_You never know, Hikaru. There's something to be learned in every game._

Really? Well, they're still a bunch of weaklings, anyway…

_Hikaru, that's rude!_

What? You know I'm right, Sai!

_Still, that's not nice to say. These people try their hardest to win!_

Trying to win against you is like trying to cut down a stone wall with a butter knife.

_You never know…_

You think someone out there is a match for you?

_Possibly. We have not met such an opponent yet, but I feel that a great match will be upon very soon._

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><p>Sai, you seem to be restless lately…<p>

_Well, Hikaru… I want to play the professionals. Especially the man who you said is considered the best player right now, Touya Meijin. Akira's father, if I'm not mistaken._

Oh. You're aiming higher now? I can try to arrange a game with him, if that's what you want.

_You mean it, Hikaru? Yes! Yes! Thank you! I will play to the fullest of my ability. Perhaps I will touch the Hand of God in a game with that man._

Alright, Sai. I'll talk to Touya when we have time.

_Yay!_

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><p>That was the most beautiful game I have ever seen you play, Sai. You're a genius!<p>

_Yes, it was an amazing game. I would like to play that man again someday. But Hikaru…_

Sai?

_You were brilliant as well._

Wha - _me?_ How?

_You saw the move that neither of us caught that would have led to my loss._

O-oh. That. But I still can't beat you, you know.

_I know. Hikaru?_

Yeah?

_Will you play a game with me?_

Sure.

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><p>SAI! Don't go! Sai!<p>

_I'm sorry, Hikaru. I won't be able to reach the Hand of God with you._

Why? Why now? Why are you disappearing? Sai! _Sai!_

_I think my real mission on this Earth was to guide you. And when you saw the path to victory that neither Touya Meijin nor I saw, my mission was completed._

But I don't want you to leave. Stay with me!

_I'm so sorry, Hikaru. It was fun -_

No! No, no, no, no, _no!_ Sai! _Sai!_ _SAIIIII!_

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><p>Hikaru was left in his room with his hand stretched out to where Sai had last been, tears trailing down his cheeks. "Sai…" he sobbed, dropping to the ground. "Why did you leave me? You promised! You promised we would find the Hand of God together! Why… why…"<p>

He stayed in that position for a while. His tears eventually stopped trickling down his face. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he knew that it was true.

Sai was gone…

But Hikaru knew he would not be able to give up go. Sai would not have wanted that. Hikaru sat up, gears turning in his head about what he was going to do now without his mentor to guide him. He had to become a professional. For Sai. He had to obtain the Hand of God. For Sai. He had to strive to be the best, because it was what Sai would have wanted. Hikaru then vowed, there on the floor, that he would do it.

He would reach the Hand of God.

For Sai.

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><p><strong>A multi-chapter fic. I've started one again. WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO? Yet another Hikaru no Go fic, because I am completely obsessed with this series. This chapter wrote itself, I swear.<strong>

**Updates? Err... anyone who has read my multi-chaps before should know that my update speed is crap. Seriously.**

**MangaFreak15**


	2. CH 2: The Pro Exam

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: Waya and Ochi have not passed the pro exam yet.**

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><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across the Universe<span>**_

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><p><strong>II. The Pro Exam<strong>

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><p>Waya Yoshitaka was understandably nervous. As were the others sitting in the room. The tension was palpable, a great hulking mass that weighed down on their heads and hearts. There was a quiet boy in the corner who was skimming through a Go book in order to calm himself down. A boisterous, tanned man who looked more like he belonged at a construction site was laughing to himself, and talking at younger players. The poor guys wanted to run away so they wouldn't have to deal with the crazy man. A young man with freckles was staring down at the table, a bead of sweat present on his face. A young, haughty boy with a mushroom haircut and large, round glasses looked about at his future competition in utter boredom. Waya despised him. He wished his older friend Isumi Shinichiro was around, but he had passed the pro exam the year before. Now it was Waya's turn.<p>

The instructor entered when there remained ten minutes until the official start of the pro exam. The hopefuls in the room stood up when he came in and moved to sit along the walls. It was almost time.

If it was possible, the mass of tension within the room increase even more, threatening to suffocate the players who struggled to maintain calm facades under the extreme pressure. Waya bit his lip, chanting in his mind, _'This is it. I'm going to pass this year. I'm going to become a pro!' _He looked to his left and saw Ochi (smug bastard!) sitting with no outward hint of nervousness at all. He'd show that four-eyed creep when it was time for their match.

Five minutes…

Four minutes…

Three…

Two…

One…

The sound of casual footsteps echoed from the hallway, causing many of the people in the room to start in surprise. Who would dare cut the timing of his arrival so close to the beginning of the pro exam? Perhaps the person wanted to keep his nerves from being shot to hell and back, and therefore decided to show up at the last possible second.

They were surprised when a slouching teen with his hands shoved in his pockets walked casually into the room like he didn't have 30 seconds before the start of the exam. He had a lean figure that was matched by his youthful face, bi-colored hair, and deep green eyes. His white and yellow sweater with a black five printed on the front made him stand out quite a bit in the plain room, amongst the plainness of his go-playing peers. In short, the guy looked like he belonged in a skateboard park and not the pro exam for go players. Was this kid even any good at the game?

"Cutting it rather close there," remarked the instructor, who was overseeing the exam.

"Sorry. I overslept and almost missed my train," said the mysterious boy.

"Try not to do it again," replied the instructor, motioning for him to take a seat. The boy chose an open spot and plopped down, crossing his legs in a laidback manner that made many of the room's occupants bristle at his relaxed attitude. Did he not know how important this exam was?

"Before we begin, I will call up your names and you will choose a number from this box. A playing schedule has already been set up for you today, so you can take a look at the board to see who you will face today," said the instructor, looking round the room at each person. "Good luck to you all!"

As each person was called up to pull a number from the box, Waya shifted his attention to the strange teenager with bleached bangs. Who did the guy think he was? And, if he was here for the pro exam, why did he sport such a bizarre image? Was it a tactic to make people drop their guards and think a jock-type like him couldn't be good at go? There were many possibilities and no particular answers that Waya could think of.

"Shindou, Hikaru!"

Waya jerked a little when the teen stood up and made his way over to the instructor. So that was his name. Shindou Hikaru. His name certainly fit the colors he chose to wear.

When his name was finally called, he stood up from his spot next to Fuku and walked over to the instructor, wondering when he would get the chance to test the strength of the mysterious teenager.

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><p>The buzzer sounded for them to begin. Waya was up against an outsider named Ichiyama Sousuke. They nigiri'd, and Waya ended up with black.<p>

The sound of clattering stones and quiet "onegaishimasu"s echoed through the room. The pro exam had finally begun.

Waya started off with a standard opening move, claiming lower left corner. His opponent did the same, claiming his own corner. Waya also claimed the territory in his lower right corner, but he placed the stone on the star point in that corner. Sousuke placed it on the 3-4 intersection.

Waya moved in with a _shimari_ to strengthen the defense of his left corner. Sousuke moved upwards a bit to claim more territory on his side of the board. Waya countered with a connecting stone to neutralize his opponent's stone. The opponent played a stone under his in the process of attempting _atari_. Waya extended from his stone to escape. Sousuke chased him. Waya extended again. Sousuke gave up and played his next stone elsewhere on the board. Waya used _ikken tobi_ to build up the defense for his right corner.

They continued back and forth, trying to grab more territory. As far as Waya could tell his opponent was decent, good enough to have passed the preliminaries, but nothing spectacular to look at. Sousuke lost his right corner when Waya sprung his trap, causing the whole cluster of stones to die with three moves. Desperate to save his remaining stones, Sousuke moved to cut Waya's stones apart, but the insei was quick to place his next stone in position for an _atari_, so Sousuke's "cutting stone" would be captured if he tried.

They played for a while longer, until the instructor announced that it was time for lunch. Waya stood up and stretched his limbs, thankful for the chance to get better blood circulation. He joined up with Fuku, Honda, and Nase, asking where they wanted to go for lunch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shindou stand up and leave the room.

Out of curiosity, he walked over to the goban where Shindou had been playing. His opponent's head was bowed, hands lying limply in his lap. He was shaking. After a moment, Waya could see why.

Shindou's opponent… had been completely crushed. Completely. There had been no mercy at all. It looked like they had played a one-sided game where white (Shindou) had flooded black's field, choked it, and drowned it. Waya was shocked. He looked down at the teen's opponent and asked cautiously, "What in the world happened?"

"He's a demon," the boy whimpered, gasping for breath as sobs choked up his throat. "He's a _monster."_ And he would say no more, distraught as he was.

Waya exchanged glances with his two insei friends. It looked like they had a second Touya Akira to look out for. Waya studied the board for a moment, taking note of white's utterly dominating position over black's pitiful attempts. He shivered. Suddenly he didn't want to face Shindou anymore.

The four of them walked out of the institution and headed towards McDonald's. They were quiet, wondering how someone this powerful hadn't decided to take the exam earlier. Waya in particular was at a loss. Shindou looked like a typical teen punk and sports athlete, yet they had underestimated him because of that. Walking in Japan's Go Association dressed like that, it was assumed that even though he'd come in for the pro exam he wasn't so powerful. That boy had definitely steamrolled his opponents in the preliminaries; it was a wonder that the people in the room hadn't scuttled away from him the moment he arrived (30 seconds before the exam too).

They entered the nearby McDonald's for a quick bite to eat before continuing with their matches. In the restaurant, they quietly discussed with each other about how it was going so far.

"I'm going to beat my opponent," announced Fuku with a child-like grin. "He doesn't seem to do well with speed-go."

"You and your speed-go," grumbled Waya lightheartedly. "My opponent's not much to look at either, honestly."

"My first opponent is pretty hard," admitted Nase. "I'm at a disadvantage right now because he killed one of my clusters before I realized what he was doing."

"How about you, Honda?"

The freckled boy coughed lightly into his palm and smiled. "I'm doing well. My opponent is decent, but I think I've got the game in the bag."

"Do you guys have any idea who your next opponents are going to be?" asked Waya.

Nase paled. "I-I think Shindou is my next opponent," she whispered. "I'm going to be crushed, flattened, crumbled into a ball and tossed into a ditch."

"Nase, don't say things like that! You're an insei," replied Waya, although he was inwardly nodding his head in sympathy for his friend's plight.

"Well, we did witness his overwhelming strength," winced Honda as he recalled Shindou's first game against his opponent. "I'm with you, Nase. And I don't see him until the twentieth round."

"I'm up against him in the thirteenth round," moaned Fuku. "Gosh, it must be wishful thinking to hope that he'll lose in speed-go."

"Don't give up, you guys!" said Waya forcefully. "If you think like that already, you're definitely going to lose! Think that you're going to win."

The other three looked at him. "Waya, you saw the game. I know you want us to be optimistic and such, but up against a beast like that… I really think he's going to breeze through the exam with no losses," said Honda. "Like Touya Akira did."

Waya scowled. "That bastard," he added scornfully. "He was a complete ass if you ask me."

Nase sweatdropped. "His father _is_ Touya Meijin," she pointed out.

"That doesn't give him the right to lord it over us about how good he is," spat Waya. "I'll teach that smug bastard some day!"

"At least he wasn't as condescending as Ochi," said Honda with a frown. "And honestly, I don't think Touya Akira seems like someone who gloats. He just wins."

"That's true, but I still don't like him," said Waya. "He ticks me off."

"If you compared Touya Akira to this Shindou Hikaru, who do you think is better at go?" asked Nase.

Now _that_ was a good question. And Waya could only say, "I haven't played Shindou yet, so I can't accurately gauge his go ability. But based off his first game alone, I bet Shindou could knock Touya clean off his ass. And I'd be laughing."

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><p>The group of insei returned to the go institute when they finished their lunch. As they were taking their shoes off in the front area, they saw Shindou enter a moment after them. He didn't talk to anyone, just took his shoes off, stored them in the cubby, and trudged towards the game room. Waya frowned.<p>

"He seems lonely, don't you think?" asked Nase softly, watching him disappear behind the folding screen.

"He does," agreed Honda. Fuku nodded.

Waya could understand their point of view, but… even if he exuded that sort of lonely feeling, there was something unapproachable about him. Maybe it was the fact that their views of him were slightly skewed by his monstrous go skill. Waya was afraid, afraid to challenge that power and lose. Judging by his first game alone, going up against Shindou would likely be akin to trying to stop a landslide with a pencil. It just couldn't happen. He shuddered as he followed his friends back into the room.

With that kind of strength, it would be impossible for him to lose in this exam.

Although… for some reason that Waya couldn't yet fathom, Shindou's style seemed strangely familiar in some way.

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><p>The first day of the pro exam ended with only Nase losing. Fuku triumphed over his opponent because of his strength in speed-go. Honda outwitted his opponent and forced him to resign before yose. Waya won his game by 4.5 moku.<p>

"Man, a loss on the first day…" sighed Nase. "Two losses in a row isn't going to help me get much footing."

"You'll be okay, Nase," said Fuku, trying to cheer his fellow insei up.

"Yeah, Nase. Just do your best," said Honda. "Go isn't really about winning or losing, it's about being able to meet your opponent's mind to create a beautiful game."

Nase smiled. "Thanks, guys," she said. "I feel better. I don't think I'll win against Shindou, but I'll try my best!"

Waya gave her a wide grin and said, "That's the spirit! Keep it up, Nase."

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><p>The second day of the pro exam dawned bright and early. Nase shivered in her dark-blue long-sleeve shirt and black vest, halting in front of the doors of the go institute. This was it. Today was the day she would face Shindou Hikaru… and probably be bulldozed by his strength. She shook her head, stray brown strands tickling her cheeks. No, that wasn't the right way to think. She had to believe she stood a chance (even though she knew she obviously didn't, not after seeing that gut-wrenching game). Taking a deep, deep breath, she stepped into the building.<p>

Her insei friends were already in the room when she entered. Waya waved her over. "Alright, Nase, are you ready?" he asked, grinning up at her. "Show him what you've got!"

Nase laughed a little at his cheery attitude, but let a somber look drift across her face. "You know as well as I do that I don't stand a chance against him," she said softly. "But thanks for trying to cheer me up."

"Just do your best, Nase," said Honda. "We're here for you."

Nase nodded.

The instructor entered when it was ten minutes till the starting time. Once again, Shindou stepped into the room with barely a couple minutes to spare, and he ignored the frown directed at him by the instructor. He looked around the room to find his opponent. Nase hesitantly raised her hand to help him.

As he seated himself in the traditional _seiza_ position, Nase took the chance to study him more closely. Dyed blond bangs fell over his large, emerald-green eyes, strands of natural black hair poking through the brightly-colored layers. His face had lost almost all traces of baby fat, leaving behind a strong, chiseled jaw. He looked calm and composed, despite the fact that he was a competitor in the pro exam. His body was lean and lithe, showing traces of muscle obtained from regular exercise and athletic practice. In fact (here, Nase blushed a little), if he had the right personality he would be perfect boyfriend material. Nase was half-mortified that she could be thinking such girlish thoughts right before her game, and about a teenage boy who was at least three or four years younger than her, no less. She shook her head to wipe those thoughts from her head, and concentrated on the goban in front of her.

"Are you nervous?" a quiet voice penetrated her mind. She looked up quickly, catching her opponent in the eye.

She smiled grimly. "A little," she admitted. "I saw your game yesterday."

"Oh. Well, don't let my strength intimidate you," he said. "Think of me as a regular opponent. Play how you always play and don't let thoughts of defeat overwhelm you, or you will play poorly."

She was surprised that he was being so considerate, but she nodded at him and tried to relax.

The buzzer rang.

They nigiri'd, and Nase won black. They exchanged their goke, and bowed to each other.

"Onegaishimasu."

Nase took control of her corners, thinking about how to proceed as her opponent also secured his corner territories. She decided to test her opponent upfront by playing _kakari_ to his stone in the left corner. He used _ikken tobi_ to defend the corner. She connected. He played _hane_ to reduce her liberties. She shifted and played _shimari_ to strengthen her right corner. Her opponent threatened her connecting stone with _atari_. She extended to prevent its capture.

They continued fighting over the corner, but Nase lost the battle when Shindou cut her shape apart and killed both clusters by preventing her from making solid eye shapes. She retreated swiftly and started building defense lines in her own corners. Shindou played a couple of moves to extend the length of his territory, then invaded her weaker left corner. She attempted to cut him off, but he used a _katatsuki_ against her defending stone. He struck down her defenses in that corner easily and took control of the territory in that area.

Nase was starting to sweat, her brow furrowed in concentration. This boy was strong. He cut her off, shredded her defenses, blocked her attacks, shrank her territory while expanding his own, and generally just overwhelmed her. She paused as she examined the board, a cold feeling coiling in her stomach. She had lost. Letting the stone she was holding drop back into the goke, she bowed and whispered, "Makemashita."

"Arigatou gozaimashita."

"Arigatou gozaimashita."

Shindou pointed at one part of the board where she had been able to build up a strong defense, but made a mistake that cost her that area. "You should have answered my _keima_ like this, then I would be forced to respond on this side, and you could have played your next stone here, to prevent me from cutting your shape," he explained.

"I see," she responded, observing his demonstration as he played it out for her. She nodded when she realized she could have done that. She gave him a smile and thanked him.

The instructor called time for lunch. They stood up, but just as Shindou was about to walk away by himself, she asked, "Hey, do you want to eat lunch with us?"

He blinked at her. "With you?" he asked. "Is that okay?"

"Sure. Um, we were talking about how strong you were yesterday, but I think you're pretty nice for someone who's as good at go as you are," she said. "Besides, wouldn't lunch be better with some company?"

His eyes flashed with an unknown emotion, one that she couldn't catch before he returned to normal. "Yeah, it would be," he agreed. "Let's go for ramen."

"Is he eating lunch with us?" asked Honda as he, Fukui, and Waya joined their female friend.

"That's right," replied Nase. "I invited him. He's not as scary as you guys think."

"Scary? Me?" mumbled Shindou in a perplexed voice. "How am I scary?"

"Your gameplay," said Honda. "You're unbelievably strong. Say, how old are you anyway?"

"I'm fourteen," replied Shindou, a bit hesitantly.

"You're younger than me!" exclaimed Waya, stepping forward. "Man, you should give me some tips. How long have you been playing go?"

"Two years."

He found himself subjected to wide-eyed stares and dropped jaws. "What?" he asked.

"You've only been playing for _two years_, but you're this strong?" asked Waya, who had paled considerably at the revelation.

"I had a good teacher," shrugged Shindou, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Lunch, guys? I vote for ramen!"

"No way, you prat! Sushi," said Waya.

"Ramen's better!"

"I'd take sushi over that noodle junk any day!"

"Noodle junk? I bet my 'noodle junk' is better than your raw fish breath!"

"Oi! My breath doesn't smell like raw fish!"

"Bet it does! Ramen! Let's go!"

"Hey, who asked you?"

"I did. I'm hungry, and I'm getting ramen. Are you guys coming?"

"Sure," the other three agreed, sweatdropping at the childish argument between the two. Waya sputtered.

"Hey, why're you guys taking his side? Sushi's better!"

"Just let it go, Waya," said Honda. "We can eat sushi tomorrow."

Waya scowled, but walked after them, muttering, "Sushi is _so_ much better than ramen."

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><p><strong>What's this? An update? SO FAST? Yes, it is. I'M ALIVE. Hope you fans out there enjoy the new installment of MAtU. Review please! My Christmas break is pretty much over, so I'm going to have less time to spend on this piece (school, WHY). <strong>

**Go terms (Sensei's library!)**

**shimari - a move to enclose your corner territory**

**kakari - a move made by the opponent threatening your corner territory (similar to shimari, but opponent's move)**

**atari - the state in which a stone or group of stones can be captured with one of the opponent's stones**

**ikken tobi - a one-point jump, useful for mainly defense**

**hane - a move played to reach around an opponent's connecting stone (moving towards atari)**

**katatsuki - a cunning move that reduces an opponent's liberties (mainly a diagonal connection that makes the stone hard to cut or capture)**

**keima - knight's move, a move played diagonally two spaces away from a stone; typically considered weaker than ikken tobi in terms of defense**

**onegaishimasu - Traditional opening words to begin the game (Please/Please give me your guidance)**

**makemashita - I resign/I give up**

**arigatou gozaimashita - Thank you for the game**

**nigiri - the part where you and your opponent decide who gets black and who gets white. There are two goke - the person with black will usually grab one or two stones and the person with white grabs a small handful, covering it so black doesn't see the amount. When revealed, if black guessed odd or even correctly, then that person remains black. If black guessed wrong, the person with white will start off with black.**

**goban - thick board to play go on**

**goke - the container to hold the go stones**

**MangaFreak15**


	3. CH 3: The Boy They Call a Demon

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: No pairings currently exist for this story**

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across<span> the Universe**_

* * *

><p><strong>III. The Boy They Call a Demon<strong>

* * *

><p>The rumors began somewhere around Shindou's tenth match. He crushed, steamrolled, bulldozed, squished, and generally beat the living crap out of every single opponent he was matched with. He was more relaxed on some days (the only way to tell was if the game wasn't finished before lunch), and he was more aggressive on other days (if he wasn't smiling when he came in, the opponent was in big trouble). Each passing day the insei and outsiders who had yet to face him grew more nervous, more tense as they envisioned their inevitable confrontation across the goban (and consequently their deaths as well). No one could deny Shindou's strength; he was demon spawn straight from the deepest, darkest, blackest depths of Hell. Many of the insei, and even the outsiders, began to think he was even worse than the soul-crushing tornado who passed the exam two years ago; named Touya Akira. Shindou Hikaru was no tornado, for sure. At least not a single one. Shindou was more like the horrific combination of one thousand hurricanes, who blew away his opponents with forces so strong that they were stark terrified of him afterwards. He came down on opponents with a soul-shattering iron fist of fury that drove home too many times, and left his adversaries in ruin, shock, and ultimately fear. Yes, the participants of the pro exam began to fear the boy with bleached bangs. Even Waya and his friends were wary of him (except during lunch breaks, because the idiot acted as normal as any male teenager).<p>

Fukui Yuuta, nicknamed "Fuku" by his insei friends, met him in the thirteenth match. He attempted to play Speed-Go against the teenager, hoping that his fast-paced style of Go that allowed him to beat even Waya would give him an edge in the game. He was dead wrong. The results were disastrous, to say the least…

Because apparently Shindou was some kind of crazy genius when it came to Speed-Go. Fuku lost spectacularly, because he could not keep up with Shindou's level of solid gameplay despite his specialty in Speed-Go. He resigned before yose, knowing that he couldn't win against this demon sitting in front of him, with iridescent green eyes that seemed to gleam in a way that rubbed him wrong. He shuddered a little, averting his gaze to the stones on the goban. His shape had been doomed from the beginning, and, as much as he hated to admit it, Shindou was amazing at playing solid Speed-Go. He was outmatched. And the whole thing had lasted only twenty-seven minutes and fifty-three seconds.

The blond-banged boy saw the depressed look on Fuku's face and bit his lip. "Um, you aren't a bad player, Fukui," he said. "I know Speed-Go is your specialty, but sometimes it's good to sit back and think about other moves that would help you more rather than relying solely on instinct. See here?" He pointed at a mismatch of stones near the center of the board. Fuku almost winced when he saw how disastrous his shape was. "You should have paid more attention to my _kosumi_ over here. You could have played a stone at my vital point here, then I would have to respond here. See? Then you could have gone here, and taken my space there, and I would need to connect to prevent you from cutting my stones there."

One good thing about being kicked in the rear by Shindou; he gave extremely good advice and tips on how to improve their games. And unlike other pros, he actually gave a visual demonstration on the moves they should have used, so the person would understand it better. Fuku nodded and smiled, no longer depressed about being outclassed so badly at his own specialty. Shindou grinned at him.

They stood together, Shindou moving to record his win and Fuku's loss, and then they stepped silently out of the room. Anyone who noticed were almost surprised that the game was over so quickly; though, those who knew better were expecting it to take less time for the younger insei to crumble before the outsider's awesome strength. He lasted almost twenty-eight minutes with his Speed-Go against Shindou the Demon. Perhaps it was one of Shindou's good days.

Since there were still a good few hours before lunch break, the two boys decided to borrow an empty room to play more Go in. Shindou took it upon himself to teach Fuku some things as they played. In order for his words to have more impact on the young insei, they played a normal game instead of Speed-Go. And Fuku was entirely enthralled by the amazing, beautiful hands that the other teenager played.

A pitter-patter of feet and a cacophony of mixed voices came from the hallway, announcing the start of lunch break. The two cleaned up their latest game and joined their friends out in the hall.

"Fuku! How'd you do against Shindou?" asked Waya.

"I noticed you weren't in the room when Shinoda-sensei said it was time for lunch," said Nase.

The black-haired boy scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I played Speed-Go with him and I lost," he replied. "He's really good."

"The game lasted less than twenty-eight minutes," said Shindou. "We went into an empty room to play more games together until it was lunch time. I taught him a few things."

"Twenty-eight minutes!" yelled Waya. Fukui and Shindou nodded. "You beasts!"

"Let's go for lunch, I'm starving," said Honda. "McDonald's, guys?"

"Sure. But we should go for sushi tomorrow," said Waya.

"But we had sushi yesterday! Ramen, I say!" declared Shindou.

"We had ramen two days in a row before that! Sushi," retorted Waya. "Sushi's way better than ramen. Ramen is junk and you'll get fat! You'll probably get a heart attack during a game!"

"Nuh-uh!" argued Shindou. "Ramen is the food of the gods! It'll make you live longer! Sushi will make you vomit raw fish someday."

"Sushi isn't just raw fish, dummy!"

"Oh yeah? What else is there besides fish, rice, and seaweed?"

"Eggs! And shrimp! And other stuff!"

"Ramen!"

"Sushi!"

"Ramen!"

"Sushi!"

"Ramen!"

"Sushi!"

"Ra -"

"MCDONALD'S!"

* * *

><p>Waya finally got his first taste of Shindou's raw strength, which had earned him the nickname of "The Demon" amongst his go-playing peers in the exam. Because, in essence, that was what Shindou was across the goban: a demon. A monster. A malicious spirit, whatever you want to call him. He was a solid wall that no one could pass. It was depressing, but the people of the pro exam began to think that there would only be two remaining spots up for grabs to enter the professional world. Shindou's monstrous strength and undefeated streak had them knowing that one of the slots had already been taken by him.<p>

It was the day of the sixteenth round of the pro exam. Waya would be playing against Shindou today. He shivered in excitement, tasting the thrill in the air, while simultaneously attempting to rein his fear under control. Every one of Shindou's fifteen previous opponents had agreed that his new nickname fit him. He left a trail of death and destruction in his wake, devastating his opponents with well-played hands. His traps were near legendary; apparently Shindou was fond of laying deep, complex traps that his opponent wouldn't catch until it was upon him, and by then it would be too late. One of the defeated insei had declared, "If you think he made a mistake, look again." But since Shindou's traps were so complicated that his "mistake" would really seem like nothing more than a mistake, it was hard to discern whether the blond-banged outsider had laid a trap or not. He was like a snake in the grass, waiting for the exact moment to spring up and strike with deadly force and precision.

What was even more unsettling for the participants of the exam was that Shindou never took his games to yose. He was so strong that all fifteen of his previous opponents had resigned before the end game. Waya was determined to break that streak. He would force Shindou to the end game, and he would trip the guy there. If all of his opponents resigned before yose, it was logical to believe that Shindou probably was a lot weaker in that area. So if he could hold out long enough for them to enter the final phase, then he should be able to close at least part of the gap between them. Yes, he would do it.

They sat across from each other in _seiza._ Waya met the other boy's eyes unflinchingly, burning with a fiery passion as he chanted to himself that he would take the game to yose. The buzzer sounded for them to begin.

They nigiri'd. This time Shindou was black. Waya knew he had the advantage of the komi rule, but if Shindou was as strong as they said, then that advantage would quickly diminish.

"Onegaishimasu," they said, bowing to each other.

Shindou started off with a _komoku_. Waya did the same with his right corner. Shindou took the star point of his other corner, and Waya paralleled him. Shindou began with an aggressive _kakari_ under Waya's corner stone, reducing his opponent's liberties. Waya blocked him by playing an upper _keima_. Shindou connected. Waya threatened with a _hane_. Shindou extended. Waya aggressively blocked his path by connecting in front of his stone. Shindou played a white stone closer to his original attacking stone. Waya protected his cutting point by attaching a stone to form a solid foundation. Shindou played a _hane_ above Waya's _keima_ stone. Waya extended from the bottom.

They continuously switched hands, fighting aggressively over territory. As they entered chuban, Waya noted with dismay that Shindou had a lead of ten moku so far. He had to fight back! Waya began to attack more fiercely. Shindou calmly defended and struck back. Waya struggled to keep his territory away from the teen's destructive hands.

And it was to his relief that the announcement for lunch break came. It ended with Waya's move to 12-7, which would be to his advantage if he managed to trip up Shindou in that area. He had laid a trap, but he wondered if Shindou already saw through it. The guy's trapping skills gave his opponents nightmares, after all.

"Good game, Waya," murmured Shindou as he stood and stretched. "You're better than my other opponents so far."

Waya flushed a little at the praise. "Thanks, Shindou," he replied. "You're really strong. Man, can't give a guy a break, can you?"

Shindou grinned at him. "Nope!" he answered cheerfully. "So, lunch? I still say ramen."

"Fine, we'll go for ramen," said Waya sulkily. "But we're going for sushi tomorrow, you hear me?"

Shindou was too busy bouncing out of the room to care.

* * *

><p>Shindou's traps were really something to watch out for. By now, most of the participants of the exam knew that whenever Shindou seemed to make a horrific mistake, it was really a trap of monstrous proportions. Not only did the trap contain several layers, but no one could see them. They saw the mistake, yes, and automatically tried to read out the steps leading up to its use as a critical point, but to no avail. They could not see the pitfall until they stepped into it, the web that ensnared them so cruelly, the yawning darkness that opened up and swallowed them whole.<p>

Waya was one of the more fortunate ones. He stepped straight into Shindou's trap, but managed to hold on to the majority of his territory. He blocked Shindou at one vital point, forcing the boy to discard his original plan and take his trap to its finish through a different path. Plan B was not as effective as Plan A, unfortunately, so he did not gain as large as an advantage as he would have if Waya hadn't blocked him. Waya still lost (by 4.5 moku), but he could proudly say that he was the only person so far that brought the game into yose. Against Shindou, that was a miraculous feat he still had trouble believing he had been able to pull off.

Shindou beamed at him. "That was a great game!" he said. "I can't believe you actually pushed the game into yose. Guess I have to watch out for you, eh?"

Waya pulled the younger boy into a playful headlock. "I'll show you someday, Shindou!" he said, laughing loudly as Shindou protested against the act. Now that his game was over, he started looking forward to the Shindou vs. Ochi match. Oh, he just couldn't wait to see that smug four-eyed mushroom get knocked off his pedestal! He would be cheering Shindou on the whole way.

* * *

><p>Shindou bulldozed all his remaining opponents, trampling them like insignificant bugs under his elephant-sized feet. He wiped the floor with Honda, though the latter had known it was coming and didn't hold a grudge. And Waya was still the only contender who had brought his game against Shindou to yose (he was so proud of himself).<p>

Finally, the day of the last match arrived. The two undefeated competitors would be facing off. It would be a grand game. But everyone in the exam knew, and knew well, that Ochi Kousuke would be the one to finally fall. There was no beating Shindou, they understood. Let Ochi put on as high-and-mighty an attitude as he wants, there was less than a snowball's chance in hell that he would manage to cream the outsider with two-toned hair. It was almost appropriate that Shindou's eyes were green; during the match, they seemed to glow with an eerie shrewdness that was almost reminiscent of a cat's eyes.

As the day dawned, a flaming clash of brilliant red and yellow against the softer layers of pink, orange, and blue, one Ochi Kousuke made his way towards the Institute for his final match. He was furious with the way that the participants muttered that even though he had been undefeated throughout the whole exam, he wouldn't stand a chance against the mad Go genius that was Shindou Hikaru. Ha! He'd show those snot-nosed twits that he was more than a match for that scrappy punk! The guy looked like he belonged in a soccer game, not the go pro exam. Despite what everyone was saying about his crazy strength, he, Ochi Kousuke, would show the world that he was stronger than Shindou. He wouldn't allow some unknown, pretentious outsider to beat him. Never!

He silently seethed the whole way.

* * *

><p>"Wh - <em>what is this?"<em>

Touya Akira 4-dan stared at the computer screen in complete shock. The name 'Shindou Hikaru' stared back challengingly, a picture of the grinning teenager beside the name. Akira had a momentary flashback, to a time where he had met the cheerful bleach-banged boy, and had been defeated by him. Now, he was in the pro exam. With an undefeated record. Much like he himself had had two years prior. Ochi Kousuke also had an undefeated record, but he had no prior connections with the younger boy, so he dismissed him.

Today was the final match. Shindou, with his enormous, overwhelming strength, would be coming to the professional world of go.

He couldn't stop shaking in excitement. He would finally have a rival to call his own.

_Come, Shindou! I'm waiting!_

* * *

><p>Ochi watched with narrowed eyes as his opponent casually made his way to his seat. The tense, oppressive atmosphere did not seem to bother him in the slightest. He settled down in the traditional <em>seiza<em> way of sitting, green eyes glinting with finality. A rush of irritation pushed through Ochi's body. Shindou was so bloody arrogant! As if he knew he would win today. Of course, it did not matter much if Ochi lost - he would still be a pro - but getting through the whole exam undefeated would be akin to being put in the same light as Touya Akira! He would not lose. He couldn't, not today.

The buzzer rang. In Ochi's ears, it sounded more like a death knell that sealed his fate. He took a deep breath, snatching a handful of stones, and watched as Shindou placed a lone black stone on the goban. He counted. It was odd. He was black. A cold feeling began to crawl through his gut, and though he ignored it, he couldn't help but think that, like Shindou's single black stone, he would be defeated.

He muttered a quick "onegaishimasu" and bowed his head. Picking up a black stone between his fingers, he smacked it down on the 3-4 intersection in his left corner.

_Pachi!_

Shindou claimed his corner. Ochi secured his other corner, watching as Shindou did the same. Then it began.

At the onset, Ochi attempted to reduce Shindou's liberties. Shindou neutralized his attacking stone with a connecting stone. He played _katatsuki_. Shindou placed a stone connecting to his other stone's east point. Ochi cut him off. Shindou threatened with _hane._ Ochi stepped through the cutting point. Shindou threatened _atari._ Ochi extended to prevent it. Shindou then cornered his cutting stone. Ochi tried to divert attention by using _ikken tobi_ above Shindou's corner stone. Shindou used _keima_ to both protect his corner and make a _tsuke_ connection to Ochi's stone.

It was a bloody battle. Ochi could feel the sweat upon his brow as he realized, with an undisputed amount of horror, that he was completely outclassed. Shindou - Shindou wasn't _human._ Ochi's every attempt, every stone he made to attack, to snatch away Shindou's territory and make it his own, every plan, every trap - they were all shot down, burning and crashing before they even flew. Shindou ground him into the dirt, making him feel like a worthless worm in the face of a tsunami. It was impossible to win against this crushing force.

As Shindou's last stone clicked into place, Ochi knew with utter certainty that he had lost. He had nothing. He could not do anything. Frustrated tears burned his eyes as he forced himself to bow his head and utter that terrible word, "Arimasen."

He cleaned up quickly and left the room without a word. He didn't need to see the faces of the other contenders, in their whispers and mutters of how they'd been right.

He didn't need to see his fellow insei, and especially Waya, laughing at him and his failed attempts to off Shindou in the game.

It was humiliating.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys, guess what? It's an update! Yeah, it's shorter than the previous one, but it's still over 3000 words. So drop a review, please. I'll try to get the fourth chapter out as soon as I can, but with school and all, I'm going to be shooting for next weekend, alright? No guarantees.<strong>

**Review!**

**Go terms:**

**kosumi - a diagonal move**

**komoku - 3-4 intersection, common move at the beginning of the game**

**kakari - an opponent's attacking stone; similar to shimari (defending your corner) but an opponent's stone**

**keima - knight's move; a two-space diagonal move**

**hane - a move played to reduce an opposing stone's liberties**

**katatsuki - a "shoulder hit"; a diagonal connecting move that is very cunning**

**atari - the state where a stone or group of stones can be captured**

**ikken tobi - one-point jump, used mainly for defense**

**tsuke - directly connecting to a stone**

**seiza - traditional sitting position with legs tucked beneath your bottom**

**onegaishimasu - please/please give me your guidance**

**arimasen - I have nothing**

**chuban - middle game**

**MangaFreak15**


	4. CH 4: Shindou vs Touya Meijin

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: I realized I completely neglected the placement of Mashiba. Let's pretend he passed the same year as Touya. And Touya Kouyo has not yet retired.**

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across<span> the Universe**_

* * *

><p><strong>IV. The Shodan Series: Shindou vs Touya Meijin<strong>

* * *

><p>The pro exam was, at last, finished. Heavy hearts and despairing souls left the room one by one, refraining from looking at the three champions of this year's exam. They stood together in the room, being congratulated by the excited and proud instructor.<p>

First place, with an undefeated score of 30 wins and 0 losses, was Shindou Hikaru, outsider.

Second place, with a runner-up score of 29 wins and 1 loss, was Ochi Kousuke, insei.

Third place, with a close score of 27 wins and 3 losses, was Waya Yoshitaka, insei.

"You three are destined to make new waves in the professional world," proclaimed Shinoda cheerfully. "Show them your strength. I wish you the best of luck."

Shindou nodded respectfully. Waya grinned. Ochi looked like a mushroom gone sour. In unison they turned to exit the door. Waya and Shindou grappled with each other playfully on the way to the elevator.

"You should've seen how red you were!" snickered Shindou, dodging Waya's half-hearted swat. "Like you were going to explode!"

"I was not, you prat!" protested Waya. "That was Ochi. I think he was just pissed because you squashed him like a bug! Oh, his face!" He almost walked into a door because he was laughing so hard.

"Very funny, Waya," muttered Ochi, glaring at the brown-haired boy. "But I _beat_ you in the exam, so I'm better than you." Waya stopped laughing and scowled at the shorter boy.

"I'll give you a spanking next time!" he yelled. "Just wait for it, you bastard!" Ochi sniffed at him. Shindou had to physically hold his friend back to prevent Ochi from being blasted face-first into the nearest wall (or the floor).

"Hey, calm down," said Shindou sharply. "He's just baiting you. I think he's just a sore loser."

Ochi's face burned with indignation as he remembered his humiliating game. "Don't think you're getting off so easily, Shindou," he spat, whirling around to face the bleach-banged teenager. "I was just testing you!" He got into one of the lifts and pressed the button to close the doors, hiding his faint trembling. Since his back was turned towards the two, he didn't notice that Shindou had caught his near-unnoticeable shaking. Shindou mentally sighed. Sai's legacy had been passed on to him, but amongst these people with lower skills than his former friend and mentor it was hard not to crush them too badly. He'd met some worthy opponents (and though Ochi was a stuck-up asshole, he was good at go). As he and Waya stepped into the lift together when it came back up, he briefly wondered if he would be seeing Touya Akira any time soon.

"Hey, Shindou," Waya spoke up in the quiet silence of the elevator, broken only by the mechanical rumble of the elevator descending. "I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but…"

He trailed off uncertainly, unsure how to say it. Shindou prodded at him to continue. The brown-haired teenager sighed.

"I know this will sound strange since I'm pretty sure I never met you before the pro exams, but… your playing style seems oddly familiar to me," admitted Waya, peering at the quiet boy.

Shindou's brow furrowed at the revelation. "My playing style seems familiar to you?" he parroted.

Waya nodded. "Like I've seen it before - or at least, some parts of it. Some of the brilliant hands you played against me seemed familiar," he said.

"My playing style," mused Shindou. "Come to think of it, yours seems that way too."

Waya blinked at him, astonished. "Did we meet somewhere before and just don't remember?" he wondered.

"I think I - oh. _Oh,"_ gasped Shindou, suddenly freezing. His eyes widened. He whirled around to face his perplexed friend. "I know why you're so familiar! You're Zelda on NetGo! Right?"

Waya was taken aback by the outburst. The elevator doors dinged and opened just as the revelation hit him. Shindou's strength. Shindou's brilliant moves. Shindou's knowledge of his NetGo handle. He had to be…

"Your handle is Disciple," whispered Waya. "But not only that, you're _Sai's disciple._" The mysterious darkness that shrouded Shindou lifted a little as pieces began to click into place. The first time he played against the overwhelming strength of the then-unknown player, **sai**, and his utter belief at how strong the other was. The joseki he used were a bit old, like Shuusaku-styled play, but the anonymous player was so strong that he had beaten even Touya Meijin, the man at the top of the go world. Sai had disappeared, but then Disciple appeared. The latter wasn't as strong as the former, but he was still kicking butt on the Internet. Rumors had circulated around that Disciple might be Sai's student, but as no one actually knew who Sai was, it couldn't be proven that Sai had a student that he passed on his knowledge and skills to. But here, right here in front of him, was the person behind the NetGo handle of Disciple. Waya had watched Sai's games on the Internet whenever he could, and he could see evidence of the player's genius ingrained into Shindou's playing style. Shindou was Sai's student. He had to be.

Shindou smiled sadly at the mention of Sai's name. "Yes," he answered as they walked out of the lobby together. "I'm … Sai's student."

Waya noticed that Shindou was reluctant to say the name out loud, and voiced his opinion, "You don't want people finding out that you're his student? You're really quiet all of a sudden."

"Can you imagine the mess it would cause if people found out?" muttered Shindou. Waya got the horrifying image in his head of rabid go fans mobbing the bleach-banged teenager everywhere he went, screaming that they wanted to meet the famous go player. He shuddered. What a terrible sight to behold, even if it was only in his head! Though… he might get a laugh out of it if it was Touya in Shindou's place. He had to bite his tongue to refrain from choking on his own spit at the visual.

Shindou raised an eyebrow at him. Waya waved his hand flippantly and attempted to stop convulsing with laughter. He suspected he looked rather strange to the average passerby at the moment, clutching at his stomach with one hand, wheezing and gasping for breath as he tried to stop laughing.

"So glad to see you're getting amusement out of my plight," muttered Shindou darkly.

"No, no, it's not that!" sputtered Waya, taking a deep breath of air to calm himself down. "I was just imagining that bastard Touya in your place."

The corners of Shindou's mouth twitched upward in glee. Then he full-out bellowed a round of chuckles, laughing so hard that he choked, with tears dripping out from the corners of his eyes. Waya grinned.

When Shindou finally stopped laughing (though his face-splitting smile implied that he was probably still going in his head), he patted Waya heartily on the back. "That was great! Man, haven't laughed that hard in ages," he chortled.

"Yeah," snickered Waya. "So, about Sai?"

Shindou turned somber at the mention of his mentor. "I don't want to talk about him," he said. "Maybe some other day, okay?"

Waya blinked, but held back his questions when he saw the anguish reflected in his friend's eyes. A deep and dark despair…

* * *

><p>When the next edition of Go Weekly was published, the three boys were depicted on the cover as the new rookies joining the ranks of the professionals. Their records were displayed next to their names to show their strength, Shindou's record reflecting the kind of monstrous strength seen from Touya Akira two years before. Ochi's was nothing to dismiss either, since he only lost to Shindou. And Waya's record was also rather high, having only lost to Fukui, Shindou, and Ochi. Overall, the Go world was waiting for them to start making new waves as professionals.<p>

The days flew by, and before they knew it, the three new shodans were receiving notices on who their opponents in the beginner-dan series would be. Both Waya and Ochi were shocked when Shindou told them, in a rather befuddled voice, that apparently Touya Meijin had personally requested to play against him.

"Are you serious, Shindou?" yelled Waya.

"Yeah. I think I have an idea about why," muttered Shindou. He scratched his head. "Either because Touya told him about me, or he knows about…"

"Sai," murmured Waya. Ochi's brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Who's Sai?" he cut in.

"He's an amazingly strong Go amateur on the net. He's so strong that he even defeated Touya Meijin in an even match!" exclaimed Waya. "But no one seems to know who he is, _except_ Shindou."

"Always Shindou this, Shindou that," said Ochi under his breath. Waya and Shindou both pretended not to hear him. "And? How would Touya Meijin know about Shindou through Sai?"

Shindou had the grace to look sheepish. "That's because we - I mean, Touya and I - arranged the game between Sai and Touya-sensei," he admitted. Waya's eyes bugged out of his head at the revelation. Ochi looked like he had swallowed a frog.

"You _what?_" the brunet repeated incredulously. "You arranged the game between Sai and Touya Meijin? With the help of that bastard Touya?" Shindou nodded. "You're crazy, Shindou. Crazy."

Shindou chuckled. "I know," he replied cheekily. Waya swatted at him. "So you guys know who I'm up against in the shodan series. What about you?"

"I have to face Kuwabara-sensei," said Waya with a shudder. "I've heard he's intimidating."

Shindou blinked. "Who's Kuwabara?" he asked blankly. He was met with two incredulous stares.

"You pass the pro exam with no losses but you don't even know who Kuwabara Honinbou is," scoffed Ochi. "Who do you think you are?"

"Shindou Hikaru," answered the bleach-banged boy in a snarky tone, just to piss the younger boy off. And it worked, because Ochi reddened in indignation. Waya chuckled in amusement.

"I'll be facing off against Zama Ouza. Do you know who _he_ is?" asked Ochi mockingly.

"Not a clue," replied Shindou cheerfully. "Some wrinkled old man, no doubt -"

"Shindou!" cried Waya, smacking the ignorant boy on the head. "He's one of the title holders! He's not some wrinkled old man!"

"You're more hopeless than I thought," groused Ochi, crossing his arms. "I don't suppose you know any of the title holders besides Touya Meijin, and you probably don't know any professionals besides Touya Akira."

"Uh… I know you guys!" said Shindou lamely. The two ex-insei stared at him. "Oh, wait, there's that creepy pedophile with glasses - Ogasha or something."

Waya and Ochi were flabbergasted. "You know Ogata Juudan!" said Waya. "A-and you just called him a creepy pedophile!"

"Because he is," deadpanned Shindou. "He's an aggressive creep who likes to shove little boys against walls in order to ask them some questions about their personal lives."

They were floored by how rude Shindou was. "Did he do that to you or something?" asked a suspicious Waya.

Shindou nodded solemnly. "Remember last year when Touya-sensei had a heart attack and had to go to the hospital?" The two nodded. "I went to visit him there, and I ran into Ogata. I guess he overheard me talking to Touya-sensei about playing a game with Sai, because when I came out of the room he grabbed me by the arm, shoved me against the wall and demanded to know who Sai was. Apparently the creep has a NetGo account and Sai creamed his ass."

Waya's eye twitched. "I think," he said slowly, "I remember watching that game…"

Shindou raised a brow. "Really? How do you know his NetGo handle?" he asked.

"Ogata-sensei's first name is Seiji. There's a really strong player on the Net named _seiji_."

"Ah," nodded Shindou. "I remember a _seiji_. He was pretty strong, but not good enough to defeat Sai."

"Definitely not," sighed Waya. "Shindou… will you ever tell us who Sai is?"

"One day," agreed Shindou. "Someday…"

* * *

><p><strong>- brief switch to 'Hikaru' -<strong>

The day arrived sooner than he liked. He met Touya Meijin in front of the Go Association, for the photographers to take a picture for Go Weekly. Next to the famous Go player, Shindou Hikaru felt like a dwarf. He was excited to have this chance to play against the man at the top of the Go world, but he was nervous at the same time. He stared straight ahead at the camera as it flashed.

"Akira will be coming to see our match," said the Meijin in a powerful, rumbling voice. "I too want to see how you have flourished under Sai's tutelage, Shindou-kun."

"I am honored, Touya-sensei," replied Hikaru. "I will battle you with every bit of my strength."

Touya Meijin allow a smile to grace his aging face. "I wish you luck," he said. "May the best player win."

After the photograph, the two players were led to the Room of Profound Darkness. Touya Meijin entered first. Hikaru paused at the doorway for a moment, drinking in the sight of the sacred room, and bathing in the calm atmosphere the room seemed to give off. Sai would have loved to play in this room. He sighed, and continued forward to the seat that awaited him. He would be Touya Meijin's opponent today.

_Sai, I hope you're watching. This is how far I have come since you left…_

* * *

><p>Waya and Ochi had both decided to attend Shindou's shodan game. They were shocked when they opened the door to the room and realized who, exactly, was sitting in the room already.<p>

"Ogata Juudan!" exclaimed Waya. The cigarette-loving pro turned his head partly to look at the two new rookies. Then he turned his attention back to the screen in front of him, showing the sight of an empty goban grid.

Ochi felt a bit miffed to be dismissed so easily by the higher-level pro, but chose to keep his mouth shut. He and Waya settled at a small table close to the door, which had a goban on it so they could play out the game. The game would start soon. This would be their chance to see into the mind of Shindou Hikaru, to unravel the actions of the Go genius, to understand the moves he played and why he played them.

They were startled when the door opened again, quietly, to admit the one person that both Waya and Ochi had not been expecting to see.

"Touya!"

The boy blinked at them in surprise. "Hello," he said cautiously. He frowned when both boys threw him suspicious glares.

Ogata turned halfway in his seat. "Akira, you came to see his match too?" he asked, diverting Akira's attention.

"Yes," said Akira. "I want to see how much stronger he's gotten since I last met him."

Ogata took a quick drag of his cigarette. "How much stronger indeed," he muttered.

Akira took the seat to the right of the Juudan, eyes intently watching the screen as the game began. The new professional played with black, and there was a reverse komi. Though it wasn't an even game, Akira could hardly contain his excitement in watching Shindou go head-to-head with his father. If the records from the pro exam said anything, they told him that Shindou was strong. Perhaps not as strong as his father, but a threat nonetheless.

Shindou played _komoku_, his tanned hand moving gracefully across the screen to set the black stone down at the 3-4 intersection. The war had begun.

_Pachi! Pachi! Pachi! Pachi!_

Stones clacked against the wooden board, beginning to form sharp angles and twisted walls as Shindou fought fiercely against the tidal wave of Touya Meijin. Akira half-leaned forward as he attempted to decipher the meaning and intent behind each move the two played.

_Shindou invaded the corner… if my father blocks him at 2-5, Shindou can move in on that side. Oh, he ignored it. Does that mean - yes, I see. Father intends to trap him at 7-4… a hane? What is Shindou thinking, ignoring that katatsuki?_

The game went on, its watchers eagerly anticipating the outcome of this magnificent battle. Each move was solid and strong, fending off attacks while strengthening defenses. The game had already passed into chuban, and if one did not factor in the reverse komi, then Touya Meijin was ahead of Shindou by six moku.

Shindou took a stone -

- and only Waya and Ochi were not shocked when he made a 'mistake' by playing it close to the upper left central area. A slight pause from Touya Meijin indicated that Shindou's odd move had also caught him off guard. But the next white stone that appeared ignored the strange black stone that Shindou had played, despite that it was practically baiting the opponent to attack it. Touya Meijin had played too long not to recognize signs of a trap.

Ogata himself had to take a moment to scan through possible outcomes, before seeing the elaborate trap Shindou had played with that one mistake. Akira frowned when he realized he was unable to see through Shindou's intentions.

The Meijin and Shindou exchanged several more hands before the trap sprung into place. Akira's eyes widened when he saw that the former mistake had now turned into a critical point. Shindou slapped down a stone to block the Meijin from escaping through the left side, forcing him to turn in the direction of the 'mistake' stone. But Touya Meijin was clever - he distracted Shindou by threatening the shodan's cluster in the center. If Shindou saved his stones, the Meijin could escape. If he chose to continue with the trap, then while the Meijin would lose influence over that area, he would gain a greater amount of territory by slaughtering the cluster in the center. Shindou chose wisely and stopped the Meijin's attack on his central cluster.

The game entered into yose. Shindou struggled to get as much territory as possible, but the drawback to his enormous strength was that he did not have as much practice in the end game. So when the final stone clicked into place, he was behind the Meijin by eight moku. With the reverse komi, he had lost by 2.5 moku; an incredible feat against Touya Meijin. It hadn't been an even game, but that was the best challenge Shindou had had since Sai left. He bowed to his opponent and thanked him for the game.

"You have become strong, Shindou-kun," said the Meijin, standing up. "One day I hope to play you in an even game."

"Me too," said Shindou. "You're incredibly strong, Touya-sensei. It would be great to play against you in an even game."

As he started outside, he was startled by a microphone that was promptly shoved into his face. A group of enthusiastic reporters (most likely from Go Weekly) crowded around him, chattering and showering him with question after question. Shindou fought to free himself from the crowd so he could leave.

"Argh, stop asking me already!" he yelled, breaking away at last. He hightailed it out of there as fast as he could before the reporters could catch up to him, stopping to catch his breath once he was outside.

"Shindou! Oi!" he heard his name being called. He turned around with a grin on his face.

"Waya! You came to watch my match?"

"Of course, you idiot!" said Waya, grabbing Shindou in a brief headlock. "You were like a demon back there, measuring up that well against Touya Meijin."

Shindou scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess," he said. "I have a feeling Touya-sensei held back a little bit, but I still lost to him. Man, I got a long way to go!"

"Shindou."

"Eh?" Shindou turned to stare at the unexpected presence in surprise. "_Touya?_ You came to my shodan match?"

"Yes," answered the 4-dan. "You played an excellent game against my father. I can't wait until the day we have an official game together."

Shindou grinned. "You're on, Touya! I'll wipe the floor with you!" he crowed.

Akira's mouth curved into a half-smirk. "I'll be waiting, Shindou," he said. "So you better climb high, and climb fast."

"I'll be there, Touya," replied Shindou. "Just you watch."

Waya just gazed helplessly back and forth between the two, unable to get a word in.

* * *

><p><strong>Sooo… I checked my stats for this baby. ZOMIGOSH, GUYS. 31 reviews, 2 c2's, 53 favs, and 75 alerts! I'm gob smacked. I feel so loved! Thanks for all your support, I'll try my best to continue this story. So please drop a review for me, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I read them. Ciao!<strong>

**Review distribution - C1: 3, C2: 9, C3: 19. Holy cheese!**

**Oh, one reviewer wanted to know how the Sai vs. Kouyo match was set-up. I briefly mentioned the hospital visit in this chapter, but the background info is that Akira helped Hikaru set up the game. They weren't "rivals" yet, but they were like semi-friends. Plus, though Sai was the one teaching Hikaru, he felt that Hikaru needed more experience with other players, so they visited a few Go salons. Touya Meijin's heart attack was big news. Hikaru doesn't really know about the other professionals because he didn't bother to pay much attention to them, even when Sai wanted to play them. I honestly don't have everything planned out, so this is just crap spewing out of my fingertips. I just hope it makes sense.**

**Go terms:**

**Shodan - beginner dan**

**hane - diagonal connecting move reaching around an opponent's stone**

**katatsuki - shoulder hit; diagonal connecting move that is hard to cut or block**

**chuban - middle game**

**yose - end game**

**komoku - popular beginning move, 3-4 intersection**

**Meijin, Ouza, Honinbou, Juudan - Go titles**

**MangaFreak15**


	5. CH 5: The Young Lions Tournament, I

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: Timeline differs slightly from canon (Rui and Oka are not present at this time).**

**Warning: OCs are present because I do not know the names of the insei.**

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><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across the<span> Universe**_

* * *

><p><strong>V. The Young Lions Tournament, pt. 1<strong>

* * *

><p>News of Shindou's amazing game with the Meijin spread like wildfire in the Go community of Japan. The reporters of Go Weekly had praised his astonishingly solid play against the top player of the country, and had blown the whole event out of proportions. He almost regretted coming out to the spotlight now, seeing as he was accosted by numerous fans and lower dans admiring his skill. It took much of his willpower not to snap and scream at them until his throat was hoarse. No, that would not bode well at all. So he endured it, to the best of his ability.<p>

Both Waya and Ochi had lost their shodan games as well. Waya had been well and truly scared to death by Kuwabara's intimidation tactics. The wizened old man was creepy as hell, always walking around 'hohoho'ing in that wheezy voice of his. He smoked twice as much as Ogata did, and it left many people wondering why the old geezer hadn't keeled over and died yet after inhaling all that smoke. Some theorized that the cigarette smoke had made him loopy and that was why he was as peculiar as he was now. _Ogata's the next Kuwabara,_ they joked, despite the fact that everyone who cared to know knew that Ogata loathed Kuwabara Honinbou with a passion.

Ochi hadn't fared much better in his match against Zama Ouza; he had come off a bit too snobbish, according to the Ouza, and the title holder felt the need to knock Ochi's ego down to size. And he did. He was not as merciless as he was in the game against Touya Akira, but he crushed Ochi nonetheless. The rookie had not been amused.

Today was their games against other lower dans, in order to gain enough wins for a promotion to the next dan level. Waya was excited for the chance to prove himself, and showed it in his unusually happy gait in the morning. His hazel eyes were gleaming at the thought of a good game. Ochi, when he had opened his pamphlet to view his next opponents, had scowled when he saw that he would be playing against a 4-dan.

Shindou, on the other hand, had groaned when he realized that he and Touya would not play each other for a while. The Wakajishisen coming up in May was his next chance to face off against the other boy, and to see how far both of them had come since they last met. The tournament was at least a month away. Between now and then, he would only be playing other lower dans in _oteai_ games, to get promoted.

He slipped out of his giant black and yellow sneakers and stuffed them into the cubby on the side. He then proceeded into the game room, where he settled down across the goban from a nervous-looking 2-dan, who had heard of "the Demon" from a couple friends who had taken the pro exam with him. "He's a crazy beast," they muttered. "You better watch out or he'll slice you in half before you can blink." He heeded their warnings seriously.

One wouldn't think, at first glance, that the teenager sitting calmly in _seiza _in front of the goban was a go player capable of sending you flying off the board with a few moves. His mismatched hair, brightly colored clothing, and friendly face was enough to make you let your guard down - because surely a teenage boy who looked like that couldn't be a demon at go, right? Wrong.

Whoever made that assumption would be in for a rude awakening.

* * *

><p>The buzzer rang. Nigiri occurred, with Shindou winning black. The 2-dan fidgeted a little as the hardy, focused expression came to life on Shindou's face. His eyes sharpened as his mind came into his game-mode. The 2-dan felt very much like a small mouse in the face of a cunning predator; the air was filled with tension. They bowed to each other, both murmuring the age-old words to begin the game: <em>"Onegaishimasu."<em>

Shindou started off in the corner as usual. The 2-dan followed up with a parallel move in his own corner. Shindou took the star point. The 2-dan copied him. Shindou reinforced his corner. The 2-dan moved to cut off the territory close to his star-point. Shindou played a higher _shimari_ to nullify the effect. The 2-dan retreated and played a stone to expand his territory on his side. Shindou used _ikken tobi_ on his expansion stone. The 2-dan retaliated with a _tsuke_. Shindou used _hane_ to wrap around the stone. The 2-dan extended. Shindou used _ikken tobi_ again. The 2-dan moved to the area of his first threat and played a stone two intersections above the other stone. Shindou ignored his move and placed down a stone to begin his invasion into his opponent's left corner. The 2-dan used _shimari_. Shindou played a stone that both threatened his opponent's territory while increasing his own.

By the time they reached chuban, the 2-dan was sweating bullets. This boy was indeed fearsome. He sprung ridiculously complex traps, made incredibly strong moves, and, worst of all, used unbelievably tricky tactics to ensnare, crush, and annihilate his opponents. It was terrible. The 2-dan felt himself weakening with every blow, just another insect bowing under Shindou's shadow. He quivered in fear and apprehension as he stared at Shindou's last move, a seemingly innocent stone placed right into the depths of his territory. It screamed 'capture me.' But the 2-dan was reminded of the various rumors and facts he was told about this teenager in front of him. No, it was definitely a trap. If he fell into it now, it would be all over for him. He bowed his head to his opponent, murmuring, "_Arimasen."_

"Arigatou gozaimashita."

"Arigatou gozaimashita."

"That wasn't a bad game, but you're too focused on territory," said Shindou, pointing at a section of the board where the 2-dan had tried to increase his territory by capturing Shindou's stones. The 2-dan looked embarrassed, because he clearly remembered how calmly and cleanly Shindou sliced his cluster of stones in half before he could gain full control over that area. It was terrifying.

Shindou began to gather his pieces from the board, meticulously separating black and white stones. He gathered a handful of black stones and deposited it into the goke on his side. The 2-dan did the same, sweeping all his white stones in his goke. After clapping the lid of the container on top and placing the goke on the board, Shindou stood from his position to record the score. The 2-dan watched him, replaying the game over in his head. He sighed mournfully at how badly he was outclassed by this teenager who had to be more than a few years younger than him. He was nineteen years old, but this boy looked barely fourteen or fifteen with that punk attire and bi-colored hair. What a letdown.

Shindou finished recording and he began to walk out of the room. The 2-dan silently rose and, after giving the room a once-over to observe future opponents, followed behind him. The teenager was tucking his feet into his bulky black-and-yellow sneakers. This guy had a thing for black and yellow, the 2-dan thought in his head. He watched Shindou until the boy disappeared behind the elevator doors. In a way, the teen reminded him of a casual-version of Touya Akira. Akira was more of a formal, uptight go-player who had terrible taste in fashion. Shindou was brightly colored and laidback enough to look like a skateboarding punk. The two of them were the biggest rising stars in the Go world, and the 2-dan knew it. He heaved an envious sigh as he slipped on his own plain black shoes. Those two were so damn lucky.

The Wakajishisen was coming up in May. There was a high chance that both Shindou and Touya would be playing in that tournament. First against the insei, then against the winners. But, the 2-dan mused, what if Shindou and Touya ended up playing against each other in the final round? Who would win then, the son of Touya Meijin or the mysterious 'Demon'? The 2-dan chuckled to himself as he walked into the elevator. He couldn't wait to see _that_ spectacle. The Go World would make big news of a match like that, especially if Touya Akira was defeated by Shindou Hikaru. The tides were changing to wash away the older generations, bringing a fresh new wave in for replacement. And Shindou and Touya would be leading it.

_Too bad I couldn't have been like them_, mourned the 2-dan. _But maybe it's better this way._

* * *

><p>The month of April passed by quickly, sliding into May with the Go World getting hyped up for the Wakajishisen. The top sixteen insei from Class A had already been determined; now the administrators of the tournament were picking and choosing which Go pros to match them up against. Touya Akira, of course. Isumi Shinichiro was a good choice as well. The most recent pros should be in the tournament - especially Shindou, since that boy was on a winning streak a mile wide. A 4-dan here, a 2-dan there, and a few other pros and they were set.<p>

One thing the administrators were careful with was the placement of Touya and Shindou within the match chart. They didn't want the two prodigies to face off until the final round, because both of them were becoming legends in their own right. Touya Akira was known as Touya Meijin's son, an aloof, composed teenage boy who sliced through his opponent's with vicious aggressiveness. Shindou, on the other hand, had been nicknamed "The Demon" by his peers for his tricky, defense-shattering playing style that utterly blew his opponents away. It wouldn't be good for them to knock each other out early; then they wouldn't be able to publicize it well and make a huge spectacle out of it. If Shindou and Touya were going to play, they would play at the end. None of the other pros were a match for them, and likely none of the insei were going to either. Why rush? They could take their sweet time and the Shindou-Touya match would happen anyway. It would be a big, fat bonus for Go-Players and Go-fans alike. It would be a match truly worth reflecting upon.

It was the day before the Wakajishisen, and the insei were buzzing with excitement. Shinoda-sensei was about to give them copies of the schedule of the Wakajishisen tournament. They would finally know who their opponents were.

"I bet Touya Akira's going to be in the tournament!" one of the insei said.

"What? No way, he's going to win again," complained a fellow insei. "Nobody can beat that guy, at least not in his age range."

"Nuh-uh! Listen, I've been hearing rumors flying around about this guy named Shindou Hikaru. They say he's a demon!" retorted the insei. "They say he almost beat Touya Meijin in his shodan match!"

"What!" exclaimed his friends, mouths agape. "That's impossible."

The insei shook his head. "No, it's true. It was even in Go Weekly, but I guess we were so busy with our insei training that we didn't know about it earlier," he said. "What's even scarier is that this Shindou person is only fourteen years old!"

"Fourteen years old," repeated the insei group incredulously. "He's the same age as Touya Akira."

"Yeah," nodded the insei solemnly. "I think he'll be in the tournament too."

"Gosh, if only I knew how strong Shindou was then I could predict whether he or Touya would win the Wakajishisen," moaned a redhead.

"Let's bet on it," said a brunet insei. "I wager 500 yen on Touya Akira."

"500 yen on Touya Akira."

"300 yen on Touya Akira."

"600 yen on Shindou Hikaru."

"200 yen on Touya Akira."

"800 yen on Shindou Hikaru."

"Well, let us Shindou-betters stick together," said one of the insei, scooting over to the other boy who had bet on Shindou's victory.

"Touya Akira's going to win," said the redhead confidently. "You don't even know how strong Shindou is."

"Instead of betting on a famous figure, I decided to give Shindou a chance," said a blond insei. "If he can go head to head with Touya Meijin in his shodan match, he's got to be pretty good."

"Point taken," murmured the brunet. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Shinoda then entered the room. He cleared his throat quickly, and announced, "I have the schedules for the tournament. Please come and get one so you can take a look at who your opponent will be tomorrow."

One by one each of the sixteen insei walked up to the elderly instructor and received their copies of the schedule. As they took a look at the match charts, sighs of relief could be heard around the room as each insei saw that they didn't have to face the mighty Touya Akira. One wasn't so lucky.

"T-Touya Akira," stammered the brunet insei. "I have to face _Touya Akira."_

The redhead's eye twitched when she found her name at the bottom, with a familiar name written neatly across from it: **Shindou Hikaru.**

"Argh! I have to face Shindou!" she cried out. "I'm doomed." She hung her head in dejection.

"Weren't you the one who said you don't even know how strong Shindou is?" said her fellow insei snidely. "Now's your chance to find out, Haruka."

"Shut up," grumbled Haruka. "Touya's still going to win, I just know it."

Shinoda clapped his hands once to get the class's attention. "Alright! You all know the name of your opponent for tomorrow. Best of luck to you all!" he said. "Remember to be calm and to focus on the game, not your opponent. Go in thinking that you will win, otherwise you will definitely lose. Now, let's start practicing." The insei scrambled up from their seats.

* * *

><p>Finally, it was the day of the tournament. The professionals began to show up early wearing their ribbons pinned to their shirts to show their status as Go pros. A couple of insei came early because they wanted to get a look at their opponents for the upcoming games.<p>

Mamoru, the brunet insei, shivered when, with his very own eyes, he caught sight of Touya Akira walking through the aisles. The Go prodigy was clad in a navy-blue suit with a red tie - as formal as always. He was conversing in low tones with another player, who wore an open red-and-white checkered shirt with a loose collar. He had a headful of black hair, but the messy bangs framing the player's face were dyed yellow. Having perused the most recent Go Weekly magazines, Mamoru instantly recognized the player as Shindou Hikaru, the rumored 'demon' of Go. He and Touya seemed to be on good terms; they were talking quietly with each other with relaxed looks on their faces.

Haruka sidled over to Mamoru and hissed in his ear, "Where's Shindou? I don't know what he looks like."

"There, in the checkered shirt. He's talking to Touya Akira," muttered Mamoru, pointing towards the conversing duo.

Haruka followed his line of sight, and gulped at the sight of her idol speaking so casually to his companion. She carefully observed the boy who was smiling and grinning as he talked to Touya. He had short black hair with dyed blond bangs framing his face. She was too far away to see what color his eyes were, but she was sure they weren't the plain black or dark-brown color of typical Japanese people. He wore a red-and-white checkered button-up shirt that hung open, revealing the plain-white shirt he wore beneath it. He had blue jeans that partially covered the top of his large yellow-black sneakers. In other words… a punk. Haruka would have scoffed at him if she had not known about his rumored reputation as a demon. She decided it would be best not to underestimate him. After all, the whole casual get-up could be a ploy to get his opponents to lower their guard, so he would have an easier time crushing them. It was a plausible explanation.

"It's time for the tournament to begin. Will all the participants please get to their seats?" called out a man in a tuxedo who was standing in front of the room. "Starting over at this table, Mashiba and Yosaku…"

Haruka fidgeted in her seat as Shindou Hikaru took the chair across the board from her. She stared at him, unable to find the right words to say to the young professional. Where had all her confidence from the insei class gone? Sitting in front of this smiling boy, she was a speechless, nervous wreck. She clenched her fists on her lap, frustrated by her lack of power.

"Are you nervous?" a voice cut in to her thoughts. It was unfamiliar. Haruka glanced up in surprise, jolting when her eyes met shining emerald orbs. _Green,_ she thought absently. _His eyes are green._ She had been right; his eyes weren't brown or black, but a lovely, glittery green that defined him.

"I'm n-not nervous," she replied weakly, wincing inwardly at how unsure her voice sounded.

Shindou smiled at her. "You are nervous. I can see it," he said simply. "But don't focus on me, focus on the game. Pretend that I am nothing more than an every-day opponent. Fight at your best, and don't let pre-game thoughts of your future loss affect you."

What Shindou was spouting was very similar to the brief speech Shinoda-sensei had said yesterday. Haruka let out a relieved sigh she didn't know she had been holding under the intensity of Shindou's scrutiny. Even if Shindou's nickname was 'The Demon,' at the moment he seemed anything but that. He was even trying to help her relax. It certainly was working.

"Begin!"

* * *

><p><strong>Guys. I'm so sorry this is late. I got caught up in real life and I was drowning. Badly. Man, senior year is tough. But now I have my Winter Break (a whole week off!) so I'm going to try to write another chapter or two as quickly as I can and post it, hopefully by the end of the week. Wish me luck!<strong>

**Go Terms:**

**Wakajishisen - Young Lions Tournament**

**Nigiri - decision of who gets the black stones and who gets white**

**onegaishimasu - please/please give me your guidance**

**star-point (hoshi) - one of the nine marked points on a Go board; one at each corner, one in the middle of each side between the corner points (parallel), and one in the center of the board**

**shimari - move to reinforce and enclose your corner territory**

**ikken tobi - one-point jump**

**tsuke - direct connecting move to an opponent's stone**

**hane - a move that uses your stone to wrap around an opponent's stone (moving towards atari)**

**chuban - middle game**

**arimasen - I have nothing**

**arigatou gozaimashita - thank you very much**

**PLEASE DROP A REVIEW, THANK YOU.**

**MangaFreak15**


	6. CH 6: The Young Lions Tournament, II

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: I am not a professional Go player. If you know how to play go, you're probably better than me. I hope my descriptions of the games make sense anyway.**

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across the Universe<span>**_

* * *

><p><strong>VI. The Young Lions Tournament, pt. 2<strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>Begin!"<em>

The thunderous command echoed in Haruka's ears, becoming the energy that turned the gears within her mind. She lifted a black stone out of her goke with a determined look settling upon her face. The war had begun. It was time to show the professional in front of her why she was ranked fifth in the insei's class A. She would not back down. She would not give up until there was no way for her to win. With her finely tuned Go-playing instinct guiding her, she smacked the black stone down upon a corner intersection. She raised her eyes to gaze at her opponent, fire burning from within. She was ready.

Shindou calmly set a white stone down in one of his corner intersections, clicking the timer afterwards. Haruka matched him. He took the initiative, aggressively testing her by playing _kakari_ to her right corner stone. She did not back down from the assault; instead, as she had been taught to do, she played _shimari_ - a black stone two intersections up and one intersection to the right of her corner stone. Shindou retreated back to his own territory, strengthening the defense line for his left corner. She left him alone and went to build up the defense for her right corner. In the process, she tried to make an extension that would cut off Shindou's lone stone from the rest of his group in the corners. Shindou saw through her tactics and looped around her extension, making sure to seal the gaps between the clusters so she wouldn't be able to cut through them. Haruka frowned nervously, gnawing on her lower lip. She placed a stone two intersections away from one of his cluster stones. He ignored it.

Haruka tried to invade Shindou's right corner, but he swiftly placed a stone between her attacking stone and her approaching cluster, cutting down the lifeline for her stone. She moved the cluster in a different direction. He lured her in with a false path into his territory, then cut her down to size. All the stones which she had thought she had been careful with in the invasion abruptly died. She suffered a huge loss, and even though she could retreat, the lost territory had been worth a lot of points. Since they were already in chuban, it would be difficult to regain so much territory before the end game. Despite this, the game wasn't over yet. There must be something she could do. Her eyes searched the board for openings, her fingers dipping into the container of white stones. No, not there. If she tried a _katatsuki_, he would then move in for an extension that reached into her territory. If she could create a _bamboo joint_, then he would have to switch tactics to invade her corner. He already had sprung a trap to kill off her invading cluster, so she would have to be cautious in her approach. If, by the time they reached yose, she still hadn't caught up then she would have to give up.

Nodding to herself in determination, she grasped a white stone and pushed it towards the intersection she was aiming for.

As she thought, Shindou had to move into a different area because he wouldn't be able to capture that spot with her _bamboo joint_ in place. She followed up with a _tsuke_ to a stone he placed above her corner territory. He retaliated. She extended. He ignored her move to play another stone elsewhere on the board. Haruka tried to map out their future moves as she thought about where to play next. If she tried to off him at the point he just played, he would threaten her stone with _atari._ But if she continued at the point where she had extended, he would have the opportunity to connect his clusters together, with no cutting spot available. This was the most difficult game she had ever played in her life - so this is what a professional player was like. Haruka was sure Shindou was just special because he hadn't been a pro for very long, but already it felt like she was playing a trickier version of Touya Akira. Demon indeed. She dropped her stone back into the container and bowed her head in resignation, _"Makemashita."_

Shindou gave her an encouraging smile that lifted her spirits even though she had lost. He thanked her for the game, and she did likewise. He proceeded to point out the parts where she could improve on, and she listened attentively.

"This is where I was able to trap you. You remember how I killed off your stones when you tried to invade? If you had moved here instead," he tapped his finger on the board, "you might have had a chance. Then I would have to respond here. See?" Haruka nodded.

"It was a good game, Shindou-san," she said brightly. "Thanks for helping to point out my mistakes."

"Sure," he replied. He got up from his chair to record his win. Haruka watched him cross the room over to the board on the wall, marking his victory next to the bracket that displayed both their names. He was both cute and strong; she hoped to see him again. She smiled to herself as she walked out from the room for a break, giggling mentally to herself.

* * *

><p>In the end the only professional Go player who didn't win was Mashiba, because he had been matched against the top-ranked insei. He grumbled to himself about how it shouldn't be possible for the insei to win against him. He was a professional! Yet he lost against an insei. He would be the laughing stock of the Go world for weeks. He wasn't looking forward to it.<p>

In the second round of the Wakajishisen, Shindou would be playing against a 3-dan named Takahashi Shu. Shu was a slim young man of seventeen, with dark-brown hair and blue eyes. He too had heard the rumors about a Go-playing demon in the form of a fourteen-year old boy named Shindou Hikaru. He had come close to defeating Touya Meijin in his shodan match; a feat literally unthinkable in the Go society. But Shindou had done it. The kifu of his game with the Meijin was displayed on the very front page of an edition of Go Weekly. It was astounding how solid his gameplay was, even against the man considered to be at the top of the Go world. Many insei and even professionals were beginning to look up to him and Touya Akira. They were leading a new generation in. But, Shu wondered, if Shindou was rumored to be as strong as he was, was he a match for the great Touya Akira? They could be rivals. Touya Meijin had no true rivals, sadly. But if these two were, they could surpass him. They could surpass anyone, constantly bringing their skill level higher and higher. It was a daunting thought, that two youngsters could be so powerful. He went to take his seat at the goban where he and Shindou would be playing. It was almost time.

Shindou casually plopped down in his chair across the goban from him. Shu was almost indignant at how carefree the teenager was being - like he wasn't a worthy opponent. But, he reasoned, the other boy was skilled enough in Go that he didn't really have much competition to worry about. Touya Akira for sure, but only the 5-dans and above would give him a run for his money. He wanted to bang his head against the wall.

"Begin!"

From there it was a blur of clacking stones and timers.

_Komoku._

Pachi!

_Hoshi._

Pachi!

_Parallel._

Pachi!

_Shimari._

Pachi!

_Ikken tobi._

Pachi!

_Defend._

Pachi!

_Ikken tobi._

Pachi!

_Attack._

Pachi!

_Extend._

Pachi!

_Tsuke._

Pachi!

_Connect._

Pachi!

_Extend._

Pachi!

_Keima._

Pachi!

_Hane._

Pachi!

_Attack._

Pachi!

_Defend._

Pachi!

_Bait._

Pachi!

_Bamboo joint._

Pachi!

_Connect._

Pachi!

_Retreat._

Pachi!

And on it went, with Shindou leading in _moku_. Shu realized he was outclassed despite being a 3-dan, and sweated nervously as he evaluated Shindou's strength. _He's definitely on par with Touya Akira, if not even better._

When the game ended, Shu was ultimately disappointed by the outcome. Oh, he'd seen it coming of course, but that didn't make his loss any easier to deal with. He sighed as he began to gather up his stones. Some people had all the luck.

* * *

><p>They took a break from the tournament matches so all the participants could take the time to relax, refresh, and fill their stomachs with food. They would need energy for upcoming matches. Two rounds down and three more to go. The only ones who didn't seem to be worried were Shindou, Touya, and Ochi. All three had the confidence that they would breeze through the earlier stages of competition. Ochi was slightly apprehensive of facing either Touya or Shindou in his next round, but decided that it wasn't worth his time to shiver and sweat over his future. He already knew he was probably going to lose. No matter how much confidence he stuffed himself with, there was no getting around the fact that both Shindou and Touya were Go players with skills far beyond his reach. At least he'd take pleasure in wiping the floor with Waya. He always looked forward to that.<p>

In the third round of the Wakajishisen, Shindou faced off against another relatively minor lower dan, and won with ease. Waya and Ochi had a tense showdown on the board, neither wanting to admit defeat. At one point in the game Waya had had the upper hand, but he made a costly mistake during his invasion in one of Ochi's corners, and unfortunately lost. He seethed about it afterwards, mumbling and griping about how it shouldn't be possible to lose to some freak mushroom head with giant glasses. Ochi ignored him. Waya wasn't important, but his next opponent was.

_Touya Akira._

The young prodigy that so many players despised and feared for his unbelievably quick descent up the ranks of the professional world of Go. Not only was he born as the son of the legendary Touya Meijin, but he was the biggest rising star since Ogata Seiji. It seemed that his skills were far superior to other children of his age that played Go due to his upbringing, so he was often disappointed with his games during his childhood years. There was a rumor somewhere that Touya had been defeated by a boy as old as he was a year ago or so, but since the boy's identity remained a secret no one knew if the rumor was actually true.

Ochi had his suspicions though. The other rising star of the Go world, Shindou Hikaru, had become big news ever since his shodan game with Touya Meijin had been published in the Go Weekly magazine. While Touya Akira's progress was unbelievably quick, Shindou's was nearly incomprehensible. A teenager who looked like a delinquent, who had no amateur records or even a mentor to speak of, and yet his go-playing skills were on par or considered even _better_ than the Meijin's son. What was worse was that he had told a reporter that he had only been playing go for two years. It was frightening; many people agreed that Shindou could not have gotten that far on his own. But if anyone asked him who taught him how to play Go, he would answer: "Honinbou Shuusaku." Therefore it was generally assumed that Shindou spent many hours studying Shuusaku's kifu. Those who knew better (and Ochi counted himself as one) had the feeling that Shindou was hiding something. Something big, that could change world if it was known. Or, at least that's how it seemed to Ochi's mind.

But if anyone put the facts together and used what little common sense they had, then it could be assumed that Shindou was the boy who defeated Touya Akira that one time. Assumptions were all he could make, but they made enough sense that anyone could see it… right?

At last he settled himself in the folding chair across the goban from Touya Akira, who looked blankly at him. Ochi felt extremely vexed that he was being dismissed so easily by the teenage prodigy, but held his tongue. Anyone could be arrogant, but there was no point in boasting if you couldn't do it or prove it. And Ochi knew all too well that he didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of defeating Touya in an even game. As irritating as it was, he had to accept the bitter truth. He wouldn't be able to win.

They nigiri'd. It was a small consolation that he won white.

* * *

><p>Isumi Shinichiro, after becoming a professional Go player, had finally started to outgrow his habit of spiraling into a losing streak whenever he lost a game. Winning was good, but there were things to be learned in losses as well. In the beginning he still clung to the habit, but because he wasn't pressured to pass the pro exam, he began to recover. He was saddened that he couldn't hang around Waya and his other insei friends as much after moving to the world of professionals, but he was confident that they would follow after him some day. Especially Waya. And the younger boy had.<p>

In what little amount of time he could afford to spend with the other pro, he learned about a boy named Shindou Hikaru. Shindou was mentioned in an issue of Go Weekly as one of the newest professionals, but that wasn't what everyone paid attention to. It was the fact that he was fourteen years old, and had whizzed through the exam with a perfect record; sparkling clean and unblemished by losses. It was almost like watching Touya Akira all over again, only older. Then came his shodan match with Touya Meijin. He nearly won. Afterwards he went on a winning rampage, crushing every opponent he played with in the oteai games. Now he was in the Wakajishisen, and if everything went right then he would face off against Touya Akira himself, in competition to become the Champion.

Touya Akira was one tough opponent, Isumi could admit, but he had yet to experience the full power of Shindou's skills. Everyone may be anticipating the game between Shindou and Touya, but he'd be damned if he didn't go down without a good fight. Isumi solidified his resolve to give Shindou a worthy game.

The teenager sank into the seat across from him. Isumi took a moment to give him a quick once-over. It seemed odd that a boy so skilled at Go would dress like a punk rather than a nerd, but he knew that appearances could be deceiving. He decided not to reserve any judgments on the boy until after he played him and got to know him a little better.

Shindou grinned lightly at him. "Isumi Shinichiro, right?" he asked, leaning forward with shining green eyes. "Waya talks a lot about you."

Isumi smiled. "Does he? I am regretfully busy, so I can't spend as much time with him and our friends from the insei days as I would like," he replied.

"We should all get together some time," said Shindou. "Like say, a study group of our own."

"That would be nice," admitted Isumi. "Let's discuss the matter later. We have a game to play."

"Good luck to you, Isumi 2-dan," murmured Shindou. His face lost its casual mirth, hardening into a visage of diamond. Shindou Hikaru, the so-called "Demon," was ready to wage war with the older boy in front of him. Waya did speak about his friend a lot, praising Isumi's skills. It was time he evaluated the other pro on his own, so he could determine whether Isumi was truly as good as his friends thought him to be.

Isumi mirrored his look, taking the lid of the goke off as the administrator told them to begin. It was time to play.

Isumi won black. With a quick smile to the younger opponent, he bowed his head and murmured the words that would lead them into the game, "Onegaishimasu." Shindou repeated after him.

Isumi started off with _komoku._ Shindou plucked a white stone out of his goke and placed it in the other corner on Isumi's side. Isumi then moved to the intersection of the corner parallel to his own, but on Shindou's side. Shindou claimed the last corner. Isumi decided to reinforce his own territory before Shindou could weaken it. Shindou expanded his influence over the board by playing a stone close to one of his corner stones, but far out enough that he increased his territory close of the center. Isumi attempted to reduce his opponent's territory by playing a stone one intersection away from Shindou's stone. Shindou extended. Isumi used _ikken tobi_. Shindou bridged the gap between their two beginning clusters by using a connecting stone between his stone and Isumi's stone one intersection away. Isumi extended to try to cut off Shindou's advance. Shindou blocked him by placing a stone next to Isumi's stone without creating an empty triangle for himself. Isumi moved away from Shindou's stone to cut it off from the other group. Shindou used _katatsuki_, which connected a black stone diagonally with Isumi's stone. Isumi twisted to escape the shoulder hit, and he cut off Shindou's lone stone. Shindou extended to prevent Isumi from blocking his way to his other beginning cluster.

They continued to exchange hands, the game growing more intense as Isumi struggled to hold on to his territory from Shindou's growing influence. He had thought that he'd been leading in the very beginning, but in a short amount of time Shindou had taken control of much of his side. Isumi had influence in scattered groups around the board, but at the rate they were going, Shindou was definitely gaining the upper hand. Isumi felt the ghost of a smile cross his face as he searched for ways to increase his territory. This boy was good. He was challenging. It was an exciting game, even though Isumi had the feeling that he would probably lose. At least he knew the reporters hadn't been kidding when they said Shindou was a demon at go.

He placed his stone down with an audible click.

_Pachi!_

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, this tournament is taking a lot longer than I expected to get through. Sorry, this was a bit late. But it's eight pages long! Please tell me what you think. Akira and Hikaru finally face off next chapter. Stay tuned! Hopefully I won't take too long to write the next chapter, but with school and all… no promises.<strong>

**Go terms:**

**Wakajishisen - Young Lions Tournament**

**Goke - go stone container**

**Insei - professionals-in-training for go**

**Kakari - move made into opponent's corner territory; threatens**

**Shimari - move made to enclose/reinforce your own corner territory**

**Chuban - middle game**

**Katatsuki - shoulder hit; diagonal connecting move to an opponent's stone**

**Bamboo joint - when you have two connected stones parallel to, but one intersection away from another pair of connected stones; best defense move**

**Yose - end game**

**Tsuke - connecting move**

**Atari - move that threatens to capture a stone or group of stones from opponent**

**Makemashita - I resign**

**Kifu - record of the game**

**Goban - go board**

**Komoku - 3-4 beginning move**

**Hoshi - star point**

**Ikken tobi - one-point jump**

**Keima - knight's move; wide move that's usually a diagonal across two spaces**

**Hane - move wrapping around opponent's stone**

**Moku - point system**

**Nigiri - played at the beginning before the game to decide who gets which stones**

**Onegaishimasu - please/please give me your guidance**

**Empty triangle - a really bad move; as its name suggests, the empty triangle is basically a triangle with no purpose. It doesn't increase your liberties and it is overall useless, a waste of space, and a bad move. The empty triangle is made by having one stone on top of a pair of connecting stones. If your opponent has a stone that makes the triangle into a square shape, it is no longer an "empty" triangle.**

**Please review! Thank you for reading.**

**MangaFreak15**

**P.S. Is it just me, or does the font for fanfiction seem different? **


	7. CH 7: The Young Lions Tournament, III

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: In the manga/anime, Hikaru calls Isumi "Isumi-san". He does not do that here.**

**Guys? I just want to say… WOW! I have six chapters and 100 reviews, but this story has 203 favorites and 263 alerts! And it's been added to 20 communities! AND IT HAS MORE THAN 20,000 HITS. OMGGGGG.**

**Kudos to anonymous reviewer M.L for being my 100****th**** review for this story.**

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across the Universe<span>**_

* * *

><p><strong>VII. The Young Lions Tournament, pt. 3<strong>

* * *

><p>In the end Isumi gracefully admitted to his defeat at the hands of Shindou Hikaru, though he lost by 6.5 moku. The boy was excellent; he would love to have a rematch with him when they had free time. He looked forward to it. Shindou's mind was a sharp blade that sliced through an opponent's defenses like butter, and unlike most of the minor professionals he had the skill to back it up. People like Touya Meijin, Touya Akira, Kurata Atsushi, Ogata Seiji, and Morishita Shigeo were similar to him. They all were geniuses in their own right. Of course there were others, like Zama Ouza, or Ichiryuu-sensei. He himself wasn't as gifted as Shindou and Touya, but he wasn't one of those wannabe players either (like Matsuda… he was still irked that the arrogant asshole became a professional before him).<p>

"That was an amazing game, Shindou," said Isumi. He smiled at the younger boy.

"You were pretty fierce at some points yourself, Isumi," replied Shindou, grinning back at him. "Right at this corner you attacked me pretty viciously. I was hard-pressed not to just give it up."

"Really? Well, in this area over here you crushed me like bug," said Isumi, pointing at the 12-8 intersection where he had attempted to form a living cluster, but Shindou had completely outmaneuvered him. And his attempts died within twenty hands.

Shindou scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, no hard feelings right? I really enjoyed playing against you," he said. "I think we should play again some other time, maybe in a less… uh, competitive environment, I guess."

"I would like that," answered Isumi eagerly.

After cleaning up the board, Shindou went to record his win against Isumi. The blue-haired boy watched him go, tracking his movement across the room. Shindou Hikaru. Previously he'd known next-to-nothing about said boy aside from rumors, news clippings, and whatnot circulating around the Go community, but having faced off against him across a goban, he felt he had learned more about the teenager than he had in the past few months. Despite the most forthcoming whisper of Shindou being a Go monster right out of your worst nightmares, Isumi had found the boy's company pleasant and enjoyable. The game had been intense, challenging, and exciting. It had called to him with fervor, the thrill humming along in tandem to his heartbeats, singing its way through his blood. It was refreshing.

There was a quick break after this so the participants and any gathering crowds could take a moment to stock up on their energy. The administrators advised that the remaining two players in the tournament should eat something healthy and drink some water. They needed to keep up their strength if they wanted to retain the sharpness of their minds for the upcoming last battle to be the Champion of the Wakajishisen.

Shindou snacked on a bag of salty potato chips and a can of sweet green tea, to the administrators' dismay. He waved off their concerns with nonchalance. "I'll be fine, I'm already geared up and ready to go," he told them. "Touya is my next and last opponent for this tournament; I don't think I'm going to be able to focus on any hunger issues while I play. Go requires mind strategy, you know."

"If you're sure -" one of the men overseeing the tournament room said.

Shindou cut him off, "I'm sure. Now let's get back to the room; I've got a game to play."

He slouched a little on the way back to the main tournament area, leaving the men scowling behind him. "What a punk," muttered a man angrily. "I hope Touya Akira gives him a good thrashing." The others soundly agreed, except for one, who looked thoughtful.

"While I'll admit that Touya Akira has a high chance of winning, that boy didn't earn his nickname as 'The Demon' for nothing," he mused.

"Yoi-san, are you saying that Touya Akira might lose?" gasped the group simultaneously. "He is one of the biggest names in the Go world! The one that everyone needs to watch out for."

"There's always a chance, gentlemen," said Yoi. "I'm sure all of you have kept up with the news? You should already know by now that Shindou Hikaru is rising in fame just as quickly. In his shodan match against Touya Meijin, he lost by a very small amount of moku, which isn't a feat that any normal wet-behind-the-ears rookie could pull off."

The men looked uneasily at each other, realizing that Yoi was right. Touya Akira might just lose the Wakajishisen this year.

* * *

><p>"Shindou," greeted Touya when his opponent came to the table. The other boy smiled brightly at him, his wide grin matching his enthusiasm. Touya could almost feel his heart begin to thud faster against his ribcage; the feeling of that intense gameplay coming back to him. Finally, <em>finally,<em> he and Shindou would have their match. Finally he would see who was better at the game.

"Yo, Touya!" he said cheerfully, plopping down in his chair. "Let's have a great match, yeah?"

Touya inclined his head a little, a small smile gracing his features. "Yes. The best game we will have played in our lives," he replied.

The announcer cleared his throat as a hoard of eager people crowded around the table where the last game of the tournament would be played. With it being the last game, along with the fact that it was Touya Akira playing against Shindou Hikaru, no wonder there was such a fuss over it. The size of the crowd was insane!

"Attention, everyone! We will now commence the final game between tournament contenders Touya Akira, the prized son of Touya Meijin, and Shindou Hikaru, the fierce outsider nicknamed 'The Demon'," said the announcer into his microphone, the device amplifying his voice loud enough to be heard over the chatter of the crowd. The crowd roared their approval. Through the buzzing cacophony, the two players could hear faint calls of people cheering them on.

"Quiet! The game will begin as soon as you all pipe down," said the announcer. The crowd quieted to allow the two players to concentrate on their game.

Shindou smirked at his opponent across the board. "Are you ready for this, Touya? Give me all you've got!" he half-shouted.

So it began.

Touya Akira was black. Shindou Hikaru was white. And the drums of war began to beat heavily, matching the throb and tide of excitement rushing through the bloodstream of both players. Touya Akira dipped his fingers into the bowl, aquamarine eyes gleaming.

_Pachi! _Hoshi.

_Pachi! _4-17.

_Pachi!_ 17-4.

_Pachi!_ 4-3.

_Pachi!_ 15-3, shimari.

_Pachi!_ 17-10.

_Pachi!_ 3-5, kakari.

_Pachi!_ 4-7, defend.

_Pachi!_ 5-5, ikken tobi.

_Pachi!_ 6-4, katatsuki.

_Pachi! _8-4.

_Pachi! _6-5.

_Pachi! _5-6.

_Pachi!_ 7-6.

_Pachi!_ 3-3, tsuke.

_Pachi!_ 3-2, hane.

_Pachi!_ 2-3, extend.

_Pachi!_ 4-4.

_Pachi! _3-6.

_Pachi!_ 10-4.

_Pachi!_ 5-2.

_Pachi!_ 4-2.

The game was starting to heat up. True to his aggressive nature, Touya began attacking Shindou at the corner. Shindou fought back with equal aggression and grace, determined to defend his territory from its new threat.

_Pachi! _7-2, ikken tobi.

_Pachi! _6-3, extend.

_Pachi!_ 9-5.

_Pachi! _9-2, keima.

_Pachi!_ 8-3.

_Pachi! _8-2, threat to cut.

_Pachi!_ 7-3, prevent the cut.

_Pachi!_ 3-7.

_Pachi!_ 5-7.

_Pachi!_ 8-7.

_Pachi!_ 6-6, connect.

_Pachi!_ 8-5, threat to cut.

_Pachi!_ 9-4, prevent the cut.

_Pachi!_ 5-8.

_Pachi!_ 6-8.

_Pachi!_ 5-9.

_Pachi!_ 6-9, tsuke.

_Pachi!_ 5-10, extend.

_Pachi! _8-9, ikken tobi.

_Pachi!_ 9-9, tsuke.

_Pachi! _9-10, hane.

_Pachi!_ 9-8, extend.

_Pachi!_ 10-3, hane.

_Pachi!_ 11-3.

_Pachi!_ 11-4, cross.

_Pachi!_ 10-5.

_Pachi!_ 11-2, atari.

_Pachi!_ 12-3, extend.

No! Not yet. He… he was losing? _Shindou… you are a worthy opponent._

_Pachi!_ 10-2.

_Pachi!_ 9-6.

_Pachi!_ 12-4.

_Pachi!_ 10-6.

_Pachi!_ 11-5, atari.

_Pachi!_ 12-5.

_Pachi!_ 11-6, atari.

_Pachi!_ 13-5.

_Pachi!_ 10-7, captured.

Ha! Take that, Shindou. Touya let no expression show on his face, but mentally he was feeling giddy that he was starting to get one-up on his opponent. Shindou seemed unperturbed, however, and calmly moved to his next point. Touya quickly followed suit.

For the next hour they danced around each other's corners, attacking, defending, and generally struggling to overpower each other. Shindou had more influence on the bottom and right, while Touya had control over the top and left. It was a close match, which had both players' hearts thudding excitedly within their chests as they played piece after piece.

They had a ko-fight going close to the central area, and neither player was willing to give up. It was a test of their determination, their resolve to _win_. They would keep fighting until their souls were battered from exhaustion, but even then they would still clash. They would fight for an eternity if they could. Neither one wanted to lose.

When the game finally entered yose, the game almost became a speed-go frenzy. Yose was, unfortunately, Shindou's biggest weakness in the game because he was so strong that most opponents tended to resign before they finished. He would have to wing it, and hope he came out on top. He slapped a go stone down on one of the intersections, fire burning in his eyes.

The game ended with Touya's final move clicking into place. The crowd held their breaths in apprehension, for most of them were unable to tell who won. The tension was so thick it was palpable, and the two players were staring each other in the eye.

Touya broke it.

"You win, Shindou," he said softly. Black had 86 moku. White had 81 moku, but with the additional komi added to the score, it was 86-86.5. Shindou had narrowly scraped by with a victory of 0.5 moku.

For a moment there was complete and utter silence.

Then the crowd broke out into a thunderous cheer for the victor, although some fans were screaming obscenities at Shindou because they had wanted Touya to win. Shindou's grin afterwards was brighter than the sun. The crowd felt bedazzled by it, and they too had to smile at him. Joy seemed to radiate off his being, standing up there in front of all the cameras, waving and smiling like he hadn't just won the fiercest game of his life. He turned to his opponent.

"That was the best game I've ever played, Touya," he said. "We should get together some time and play games just for fun. I enjoyed facing off with you."

Touya looked taken aback by the offer for a second, but then he nodded and smiled. Even though he had lost, he didn't feel it at all. Shindou had been an amazing opponent to play against across the goban, and memories of the game still gave him chills down his spine, making him shudder from the thrill.

They cleaned up the board, putting all the stones back into their respective containers. As soon as they stepped off the stage, both players were swamped by a flood of excited, chattering reporters shoving microphones into their faces. Touya dealt with it in his typical calm fashion, explaining to the reporters that even though he lost he learned a lot from the game itself. After all, go is not about winning or losing; it's about the meeting of minds across the board to create a beautiful game. He and Shindou had done that. He was satisfied.

On the other hand, Shindou was trying to escape from the reporters. He answered a few questions here and there, but they were so jumbled up and mixed up with one another that he could barely hear them. He tried to shove his way through the crowd, but every time he passed one reporter three more took his place. It was frustrating! Couldn't he have a little peace?

"Alright, that's enough," called out a voice. "Let Shindou have some air." The crowd of babbling reporters paused in unison and backed away, revealing the red-haired man, Amano. Amano was the main reporter for Go Weekly, but unlike those _carnivores_ he did not try to pester Shindou for answers. Instead, he merely requested a short interview with the victor. All Shindou would have to do was tell him about his feelings for the game he just won, how he felt about his opponent, and so on.

Shindou agreed. Amano also called Touya Akira over to be part of the interview. He took them to an empty room for privacy. They sat down in the green armchairs in the room, both players gazing calmly at the middle-aged man. Amano cleared his throat, whipping out his pen and paper.

"Now," he said, locking eyes with Shindou, "please tell me how you felt about this game."

Shindou took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, he began:

"I felt excited, because this would be my first time playing against Touya in a really long time. I wanted to test how much I'd grown since our first game, when we were both thirteen. This game was… important to me, I guess. I really wanted to win, to prove that I wasn't some no-name brat who happened to pick up the game. Playing against Touya, it almost felt like a dream."

Amano nodded, scribbling down Shindou's response. "How do you think you would feel if you had lost?" he questioned.

"If I lost…" echoed Shindou. He smiled softly and shook his head. "Even if I had lost, the game would still be important. It would just tell me that I have to improve even more, so I wouldn't lose next time."

"And you, Touya Akira? How do you feel about this game?"

"Same as Shindou," admitted Touya. "I lost, but I don't feel as if I lost. It was an amazing game, which I hope to play more of in the future."

Amano hummed thoughtfully. "Thank you, you two," he said, standing up. "This game is going on the cover tomorrow as one of the biggest games of the year. I hope you don't mind if we take a picture of you before you leave?"

Shindou shrugged. "Fine by me, I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere," he said. Touya nodded in agreement.

"Excellent! Come with me," said the reporter.

Amano had one of the cameramen snap a photo of the two players standing together, then one photo of each player individually. Afterwards, as Shindou and Touya walked out from the Institute together, they began discussing when and where they wanted to meet to play against each other. Their quiet conversation was interrupted when a loud voice bellowed behind them, "Oi! SHINDOU! Wait up, will you?"

Shindou turned around in surprise. "Waya?" he said. "And Nase, Honda, and Isumi too. Did you guys come to watch our game?" Touya was secretly pleased that Shindou said 'our' game and not 'my' game. The player hadn't forgotten he was standing next to him.

Waya slapped the younger boy on the back, laughing, "That was great, Shindou! You kicked that bastard's ass, just like I knew you would!"

"Waya, I didn't 'kick his ass', as you said. I barely won," sighed Shindou. "And he's standing right next to me, if you haven't noticed."

Waya's head whipped to the side, where he did indeed behold the sight of a certain Go player standing uncertainly next to his friend, a frown tugging at his lips. He scowled. He hated that person with a passion, even though Shindou seemed to be standing by him with no problem. He knew Touya had told Shindou that he would be waiting for him in the upper Go community, but to the point that the two seemed almost… friends? It was bizarre.

Shindou turned back to Touya, ignoring his friends for a moment, and said, "Well? Do you want to meet up at your dad's salon then?"

"Sounds good," agreed Touya. "Saturday at three?"

"Sure."

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><p><strong>Sorry for the late update. I struggled a lot with this chapter, since I honestly just didn't know how to write it without making it sound really awkward. The version you just read is the only one that I'm halfway satisfied with.<strong>

**I'm on Spring Break, even though it's Friday and it's ending soon. I've decided which college I want to go to, and it's only about an hour away from my house.**

**Oh, and another reason why I was kinda late with this chapter is because I became obsessed with Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Seriously. In two and a half weeks, I watched all 203 episodes plus the bonus episode. As I wrote this chapter, I listened to some of the character songs, lol.**

**Go terms:**

**Wakajishisen - Young Lions Tournament**

**Moku - points in a go game**

**Goban - cube-ish go board, 19x19**

**Hoshi - star point**

**Shimari - move to strengthen your corner defense**

**Kakari - move to threaten your opponent's corner**

**Ikken tobi - one-point jump**

**Katatsuki - shoulder hit**

**Tsuke - connecting move**

**Hane - move to wrap around an opponent's stone**

**Keima - knight's move**

**Cut - move to cut opponent's cluster(s)**

**Atari - state which an opponent's stone(s) can be captured with one move**

**Yose - end game**

**By the way, the moves I used for Shindou and Touya's match came from the game animation that Wikipedia used. I have a Go program I used to PAINSTAKINGLY hand-copy the moves from the animation (which was no easy feat, I tell you…). Except that last move, which I made up myself.**

**Please review. I'm sorry this was late. Don't expect another update any time soon because I don't know when I'll write another one.**

**Hey, I warned you at the beginning of the story, right?**

**MangaFreak15**


	8. CH 8: Demonstration Day

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: In the manga/anime, Hikaru calls Isumi "Isumi-san". He does not do that here.**

**Sorry about the wait. I realized after the Wakajishisen chapters that I had no idea where I was going to take this story next, since the Hokuto Cup wouldn't be happening just yet. I consider this as more of a filler chapter, meant more for enlightenment than a subplot to get the story moving, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. IT IS NOT AN INTERLUDE. It's effing long because I made it my goal to write out an ENTIRE GAME. Simulated by yours truly. You're welcome.**

**One reviewer told me it would be nice to have the go terms explained rather than just labeled and used, so this chapter is meant to, hopefully, give you guys more in-depth information on the use of certain go moves. I hope everything makes sense. I'm not a professional go player, so if the shapes look like crap when you try to recreate it just remember this fact.**

**On another note… this story has over 31,000 hits. OMG. You guys rock!**

**Status: 7 chapters, 119 reviews, 31,884 hits, 29 c2's, 269 favs, 345 alerts.**

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><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across the Universe<span>**_

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><p><strong>VIII. Demonstration Day<strong>

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><p>In the aftermath of Shindou's narrow victory over Touya Akira in the final match of the Wakajishisen, the entire Go community of Japan was talking about it. Those who were there to see the actual match recalled the game with intense clarity, animatedly speaking of how amazing both players had been. While Touya had exhibited his usual aggressiveness on the board, Shindou had countered with his own demonic finesse, managing to pull the rug out from underneath the prodigy's feet. A win was a win, even if by a hair's width. Instead of losing that precious image as the undefeatable fourteen-year old son of Touya Meijin, Touya Akira gained more than a few extra fans who admired his prowess. Shindou also gained quite a large following for his feat, though still not quite up to par with Touya Akira's.<p>

When the insei next met, a sense of utter doom seemed to pervade the atmosphere. It was black enough make even Shinoda-sensei sweatdrop at the dramatic melancholy being displayed by four of his students.

"I can't believe he lost…" muttered Mamoru. "I mean, it was such a close game. If only Shindou had made a mistake, then…"

"We were wrong to underestimate Shindou's ability," said Haruka. "I played against him in that first round and I was totally creamed." Her cheeks flushed a bit at the memory. She giggled. "He was pretty cute though. He has such nice eyes."

"God, Haruka, we don't need to hear your girly fantasies about him," said one of their fellow insei, rolling his eyes at her.

"I'm not forcing you to listen to me," she retorted hotly, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh, very mature, Haruka," sighed Mamoru.

"Hey, do you guys remember our bet?" asked another insei. He grinned widely, showing off his teeth. "Shindou won, didn't he? Pay up, losers! Gyahahaha."

"Shut up, Ken," grumbled Haruka, fishing in her pockets for the money. "Your voice is annoying."

"You're just mad 'cause you lost," sang the blond-haired boy, accepting the cash from the insei graciously. "1500 yen, excellent. Now the great Ken-sama will -"

"Ken, I bet on Shindou too, you know," said another insei crossly. "Half of that money belongs to me."

Ken pouted. "Dang it, I was hoping you wouldn't remember," he mumbled, dividing up the cash.

"Of course not," scoffed the insei, taking the bills and stuffing them into his pocket. "Who would forget about money?"

"You should've. I would have been 1500 yen richer," said Ken.

"Obviously I had the brilliant insight of betting on Shindou first," answered the insei, smirking. "Therefore, it should have been you who forgot, Ken-_sama_."

"You call that stupid sixth sense of yours brilliant?" deadpanned Ken. "Some insight it is, twelfth place." He crossed his arms indignantly.

"This coming from the guy who ranks lower than I do."

"Oi!" Ken glared at the laughing boy. "That was cheap, Masaru. You just wait! I'll pass you."

"Bring it up, pretty boy," taunted Masaru. "I'll shoot up those ranks so fast you won't be able to help kissing my feet because I'm so great." He clapped Ken forcefully on the back, sending the blonde stumbling, and then he walked towards the arranged go boards, itching for a match.

"What the - _Masaru! _Oi! Get back here! We're not done talking!"

* * *

><p>"A demonstration?"<p>

Hikaru stared at the small sheet of white paper his mother handed to him when he got home. In black font across the paper was written: 'Shindou Hikaru, you have been officially selected by the Japanese Committee of Public Go Activities to participate in a demonstration event that has been set for the upcoming Go convention taking place on May 19th, from 1:00 - 4:00 in the afternoon. Your opponent will be Juizou Michiru 4-dan. Good luck, and remember to go slowly enough so the commentators will be able to comment on and explain your moves to the audience. From, Aizawa Takeshi, the JCPGA Director of Events'.

"No way…" he whispered. "I'm participating in a demonstration? Me? What do they see in me?"

They saw something, obviously. The notice was not a hallucination, nor a figment of his imagination conjured by his curious mind. It was real. He was really going to be playing a live game that would be on display for everyone at the convention to see. He felt understandably nervous about it. And he had to move at a pace that would allow the commentators to explain what was happening to the audience. Crap, double crap, _triple_ crap. He was going to have to drill that into his skull before he reverted to his normal go-playing tendencies.

May 19th was on a Saturday. Damn, there went his Go salon time. He might still be able to make it to his favorite salon since the event was supposed to only last from one to four in the afternoon. That meant he had time before lunch to drop by for a quick visit before he had to leave for his demonstration match.

Hopefully the patrons would understand. He'd just have to make sure Kawai-san didn't explode into a wild noogie-fest for blowing them off for a demonstration. He winced at the thought of his hair getting all ground down into his skull. Kawai's knuckles were _hard._

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><p>On the day of the convention Hikaru managed to wake up at nine. He got dressed in a yellow T-shirt and a black sports jacket with a white stripe running down the side of each arm. He donned a pair of black sweatpants along with them. The salon should be open by the time he got there. He greeted his mother with a 'good morning' and proceeded to wolf down the breakfast she placed in front of him.<p>

"Oh, Hikaru, do eat slower or you'll choke," sighed his mother. Hikaru paused briefly in the process of chewing on his omelet, eyes darting over to her retreating figure, before he shrugged and crammed the whole thing into his mouth. He didn't have time to be picky about his eating habits. He had a salon to get to.

As soon as he was finished, he carried the plate to the sink and dumped it in. He hurried to put his giant yellow-black sneakers.

"I'm leaving!" he called out loudly.

"Be safe!" came his mother's answering reply.

And he was off.

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><p>"Why, if it isn't the stupid brat," joked Kawai as he spotted the familiar figure of the bleach-banged boy entering the lively Go salon.<p>

Hikaru gave the man a matching grin, "You're looking well, old man," he returned with good humor.

"Old? I'll show you who's old!" threatened Kawai, making a move towards him with his fists prepared.

Hikaru dodged to the side as Kawai leaped towards him, avoiding the evil noogie-prone fist heading his way. He still needed to be presentable for his upcoming match, which meant that he needed to make sure his head was untouched.

"Kawai-san, don't mess with my hair today," he said. "I have a demonstration match I'm participating in this afternoon, so I can't stay with you guys for long."

As expected, Kawai yelled, "What! A demonstration game? You?"

"Unfortunately," grumbled Hikaru. "You understand right, Kawai-san? No noogies today."

"Since when has a stupid brat like you cared about physical presentation?" asked Kawai, retreating reluctantly from the doorway so the teenager could actually get in to the room.

"Since I was told I would be participating in a demonstration match, in front of a whole crowd of spectators who might actually give a shit about what I look like," shot back Hikaru. "Of course I don't like it, and I want to be there even less!"

Kawai shrugged as he began to set up a goban so he could play one or two rounds before Hikaru had to leave. "I'd say flip those administrators the bird, I bet a brat like you could do it," he replied. "But that wouldn't be very conducive to your reputation as a Go player, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't," agreed Hikaru, moving over to sit in one of the chairs. "Let's just get a game rolling and we'll see where to go from there."

"Hey, can we come and watch your match?" asked one of the salon's patrons.

"If you want," said Hikaru. "Ugh, I have to move slowly for that game. I'm going to be in hell."

"Good luck, brat!" barked Kawai, a shit-eating grin plastered to his rugged face. "The amazing Kawai-sama will send you off with an ass-beating."

Hikaru cracked a smile as he took the goke containing the black stones. "In your dreams, Kawai-san," he said. "It's my move."

_Pachi!_

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><p>"Ladies and gentlemen! My, what a crowd I see out there!" shouted commentator Murasaki Jen. "Welcome, one and all, to this fine event that we are holding here today. This demonstration match will be played between Shindou Hikaru, shodan, and Juizou Michiru, 4-dan. During the match, please try not to talk, because both players need to concentrate, and we, the commentators, need to be heard in order to explain the meaning behind their moves."<p>

"Shindou, Juizou, are you ready?" asked commentator Daiten Minato. Both players confirmed a response with a nod of their head. "Then, let's begin!"

"Shindou will be playing as black. Juizou will be playing as white. Keep that in mind," announced Murasaki to the crowd. A few hushed murmurs met her ears as the audience whispered quietly among themselves in anticipation. She was sure most, if not all of them, must have heard about Shindou Hikaru at some point. If they were true fans of the game, there's not a chance that they would not have heard about Shindou's rise in fame. His name alone had started provoking various reactions from other players. Like Touya Akira, his name was starting to be feared.

Maybe it was even worse than hearing Touya Akira's name, for the boy with bi-colored hair had _defeated_ the teenager who had long been claimed to be the newest prodigy of the Go world in Japan. He had even come close to defeating Touya Meijin in his shodan match, which was next to impossible for any new professional who just passed the pro exam. His monstrous strength left behind a trail of ruins, leading to the two questions that everyone wanted to ask but were too afraid to: how had Shindou gotten so strong for someone who was virtually unknown until he began to publicly display his amazing skills? Who was his teacher? The latter question was the most often asked.

Those who played NetGo had a strong suspicion of who Shindou's teacher was, but they did not try to confirm it. Only Waya Yoshitaka knew the full and absolute truth: Shindou's handle on NetGo was Disciple, and his teacher had been NetGo's legendary, undefeatable Sai.

Murasaki cleared her throat. "Shindou starts off with the old 3-4 move, _komoku_, snatching up that corner there. Juizou seems to have mimicked him, but she stole the corner on the right side. Aha, Shindou moved into the upper left corner by claiming the star point. Folks, that means Shindou intends to spread his influence over the left side, while Juizou probably means to take over the right side. There she goes at the 16-17 spot."

Daiten placed the enlarged magnetic go pieces in their respective places on the giant go board propped up vertically on the stage according to the players' moves. "Shindou has decided to take an aggressive approach today," he said, slapping a large black circle onto the intersection that indicated Shindou used _kakari _diagonally below his opponent's stone in the lower right corner_._ "The move he used encroaches upon his opponent's territory. It is an aggressive play to reduce an opponent's area of influence in the beginning, and it can only be played in corners."

"As you can see here," picked up Murasaki as she pointed at the board with a long, thin stick, "Juizou negates his move by playing _shimari, _a move to defend her territory while rebuffing his attack. In situations like this, the _shimari_ is usually played one space right, two spaces above your original corner stone. It will strengthen your defense."

"Shindou has decided to retreat for the time being," said Daiten. "He has reinforced the defense for his upper corner by also utilizing _shimari._" He placed a black circle on the 2-15 intersection.

"Juizou moved to the 16-15 space with _ikken tobi_, a one-point jump down from her second corner stone. She's building up her defenses, folks," reported Murasaki with enthusiasm as Daiten slapped a white circle into place. "What will Shindou do next? Well, it's only the beginning of the game, I'm sure we'll see lots of exciting moves later."

"Shindou follows up with a move to 6-15, which creates a wide triangle that he can use to defend his corner. However, white is at an advantage here because her influence has already encompassed the right side, while Shindou has yet to claim the entirety of the left. What could he be thinking?" wondered Daiten, staring at Shindou's move.

"Juizou has decided not to make a move into Shindou's open territory because that would take her advantage away," announced Murasaki. "So she uses that one-point jump again, folks, and this time it's in the name of territory expansion; a step at 18-8. How about that! We have yet to see the appearance of Shindou's more demonic tendencies, it seems, but be patient! It's only just begun."

"Shindou's on the move! He played at 15-4 - Daiten, what do you suppose is the meaning behind that move?" asked Murasaki, tapping lightly on Shindou's latest move near the bottom.

"We'll find out soon," replied Daiten. "At the moment an earlier provocation seems to be his strategy."

"Juizou has made contact at 16-4," said Murasaki. "White still has the advantage, folks!"

"Shindou used a _hane_ - looks like he snatched a small bit of territory from Juizou's hands," chuckled Daiten. "The move he used is intended to wrap around an opponent's stone or cluster of stones, so he can drive them into a state of _atari_ - capture. Here, Shindou's _hane_ extends his invading cluster along the bottom of Juizou's corner stones. It's a step."

"Juizou blocks his advance at 17-3, creating two triangles that fit together like pieces of a puzzle!" said Murasaki with renewed excitement. "This is a good form because neither player is in the possession of an empty triangle. An empty triangle is bad, folks, remember that! It doesn't give you an advantage no matter how cool it looks on the board. In fact, it has fewer liberties than a square block, so it's easier for an opponent to take territory from you. Now, what will Shindou do next?"

Daiten observed the players for a moment before he picked up another magnetic black circle and placed it onto the giant board: "He has decided to extend to 15-5, which I observe as a 'build-up' to whatever he happens to be planning in that devious mind of his."

"Juizou reduces some of Shindou's territory by playing a stone at 14-2. It's actually quite a clever move," observed Murasaki thoughtfully. "But that lone stone is not going to be enough."

"Indeed, as you said, it was not enough. Shindou neutralized the power behind her move with a _tsuke_ to the left at 13-2. The 'connecting move' does not give him territory, but it also prevents the opponent from claiming territory in that area as well," reported Daiten with a small grin on his face. "Things are getting interesting now."

"White can just cut off his stone from the group though," answered Murasaki. "Look: Juizou just extended upward to 14-3."

"Ah, but that move has given Shindou some territory over to the left side of the stone," said Daiten. "Even if cut off, he has plenty of space to maneuver. There he goes with a stone to 13-3, a parallel to his opponent's move. He still has territory on the left side of those stones."

"Juizou tried to cut him off with a _hane _at 13-4, but honestly that just gave him even more territory influence on the left side, didn't it," murmured Murasaki. "Well, folks, the competition between the two players is starting to heat up! Juizou is doing her best to hold off Shindou's attacks, so let's give her a silent cheer!" Some of the people in the audience wildly waved their hands in what they hoped looked like encouragement to the female 4-dan.

"Shindou's next move has happened. It looks like he… what? He moved away from the corner to perform another _shimari_, but to his lower corner? I can't tell what this guy's thinking, but it looks like Juizou may have caught a lucky break this time around," said Daiten. "Shindou's influence is getting thicker over on the left side while Juizou still remains strong on the right."

"Even Juizou seems taken aback by Shindou's unexpected leap into his own corner," reported Murasaki. "But she didn't let that faze her, folks! She surged ahead to connect her stones at the 14-4 intersection to form a nice, solid cluster."

"The only thing about that is that her connection also allowed the space between Shindou's corner stones and his stones at 13-2 and 13-3 to become wholly his territory," said Daiten in awe. "Maybe that's why he pulled back; he knew she would connect her stones and thus put the area at the bottom under his control."

"And now he can make his move," realized Murasaki, her eyes widening. "My, Shindou is starting to become that formidable opponent that we all know as 'the Demon'. Hang on to your seats!"

"Shindou has used a _niken tobi_ to extend his influence over the left side of the board at last," said Daiten, sticking a magnetic black circle to the 3-7 intersection. "That two-point jump has spread his territory boundaries further than second _shimari_ would. What a smart guy! The two-point jump is slightly risky because it has lower defensive properties than the 'enclosure' move and the one-point jump, but Shindou executed it perfectly."

"At this point, Juizou can't do much with a single white stone, so she has decided to play it safe," said Murasaki, tapping on the 15-6 intersection. "It looks like she's attempting to trap Shindou's invading cluster in the corner, but seeing as he doesn't have much influence there - she might have a plan going on in her head instead."

At the back of the crowd, the door opened quietly. Touya Akira slipped in as inconspicuously as he could, squeezing in between two men in the back row in the single available seat. Though it was only a demonstration game, Touya wanted to watch because Shindou was one of the players. It might be possible to gain a little insight into the complex mystery of Shindou Hikaru, and why he was so ridiculously strong. Although, Touya contemplated as he eyed the giant vertical go board, Shindou's skill level may dip or rise a bit depending on who he was playing. This might not be his full strength, like what he used in the final game of the Wakajishisen.

"Shindou responded to her move with a stone to 14-5!" announced Daiten loudly. "Looks like Shindou had a change of heart and wanted to continue with his earlier corner invasion. Right now he's trying to make it impossible for Juizou to trap him, and by the looks of it he's succeeding. How will Juizou respond to this new development?"

"Ooh, look at that girl go! She blocks him at 13-5!" said Murasaki loudly.

"Shindou doesn't give up! He extends to 14-6 to prevent capture," said Daiten. "This is an excellent escape routine. As you can see, Juizou is not in position to ensnare him in a ladder, nor can she use _atari_ because there are still other openings in her corner that Shindou can sneak out from. The ladder is a constant state of _atari_ in which an opponent cannot escape. Once the opponent's stones reach the edge, you will most likely have a huge chain of stones zigzagging across the board, and once you capture them that territory is yours. Atari, for those of you who don't know, is when you can capture an opponent's stone or stones with just one move. Right now Juizou is in trouble because she can't do either, and thus Shindou can successfully escape while taking over the corner."

"Will Juizou make a comeback? How will she deal with this troubling situation?" asked Murasaki, building up the anticipation within the crowd. "Looks like she moved to 14-7 in pursuit of a ladder anyway - knowing Shindou he probably won't take the bait."

"Shindou played at 15-7; do you see what I see?" spoke Daiten to the audience. "Looks like Juizou's stone is in a state of _atari_. If she doesn't save it, her territory may be lost!"

"And Juizou decides to save her stone, for she plays at 16-6," announced Murasaki. "The good thing about this move is that she gets to hold on to her territory on the left. Shindou has not got his claws on it yet, folks!" A few members of the audience were smiling at the 'claws' comment, which was also a notable reference to Shindou's nickname. Murasaki herself grinned brightly at them.

"Shindou plays a stone at 13-6, which is a good move on his part after his failed _atari_ because the stone negates the value of Juizou's stones from 14-7, 18-8, and downward. She still owns the territory, but Shindou's move decreased her moku count. Moku are the points, by the way," explained Daiten.

"Juizou places Shindou's topmost stone into a state of atari," said Murasaki. "By doing this, she revives value into some of her stones instead of them just being there as territory anchors."

"Shindou counters by also putting her stone into a state of atari," said Daiten, putting a black circle on the 13-7 intersection. "This was a smart move, because he gains that whole area of territory on the bottom left no matter if Juizou decides to continue capturing Shindou's stone or if she saves her own."

Murasaki waited for a moment to see Juizou's next move, and then continued, "She saved her stone at 14-8, folks!"

"Shindou follows up with an extension at 15-2," said Daiten. "Still going strong here."

"Juizou captures Shindou's lone stone by playing at 16-7," said Murasaki. "Even though this corner fight is going on, Juizou's territory is shrinking. I think she'll need to do some expansion work soon!"

"Indeed," agreed Daiten, looking at the board and quickly doing an evaluation of the players' territory areas. "Shindou is slowly pushing her influence out of her original corner, even though she is trying her best to defend it. Look: he just used _ikken tobi_ to jump left to the 11-7 intersection. He means to take over the entire right side soon, too."

"What an exciting turn of events! How will Juizou manage to get herself out from this mess?" asked Murasaki animatedly, eyes swerving over the crowd. "Hey, look at that! Juizou has played a stone at 17-6; she's created a bamboo joint! Looks like she's still not into expansion yet, but now she has a solid cluster that can't be cut by any means. For you folks out there who don't know what a bamboo joint is, it's when you have two of your own connected stones paralleled to another pair of your connected stones with one intersection of space between the pairs - like having a three-row stack of two stones each, only the middle row is missing. This is an excellent method of defense because if your opponent tries to cut through at, say… intersection A, you can just connect at the second intersection B.

"Shindou has moved to 12-6," stated Daiten. "Hmm, it creates a good defense triangle, but the only problem is that white is not attempting to cut; therefore, it has the potential to turn into an empty triangle if Shindou isn't careful."

"It looks like Juizou is finally trying to gain some territory," said Murasaki. "She used a _kosumi_ to get to the 13-9 intersection, which expands her territory boundaries to the left a little bit. A _kosumi_ is a diagonal move that can be used to cut, attack, defend, et cetera. Better than nothing!"

"Shindou used a one-point jump up to 11-9; very close to _tengen_, the center point," commented Daiten. "His territory is still vastly larger than Juizou's, so whatever he's doing, it looks like it's working. Juizou is pretty much on the defensive at this point."

"She definitely hasn't given up though, not by a long shot!" said Murasaki, excitement shining in her dark-brown eyes. "She just made a very bold an unexpected move to the upper middle star point - _hoshi_ - where she managed to lay claim to a small portion of territory. No doubt Shindou has a comeback, but for now what do you think his next move will be?"

Daiten examined the board thoughtfully. "If Shindou claims _tengen_ by using a _kosumi_ - a diagonal - he will have mostly claimed the right side for himself unless Juizou decides to invade. If Shindou decides to pursue her, and plays a _tsuke_ at 11-16, he can reduce her territory and prevent the boundaries from extending out to the upper right area," he explained to the audience. "If we take a moment to evaluate territories, we'll see that Shindou's best option at the moment would be to move at 11-16, because then he can start blocking off the rest of the area while keep Juizou's territory levels down."

"You must have mind-reading powers, Daiten," said Murasaki. She tapped on the intersection he had just been talking about. "Shindou did make a play at this point."

"It's all in logic and evaluations," joked Daiten. "I'm sure you could read Juizou's next hand like that."

"I would prefer to just see them play it out themselves rather than me foolishly trying to guess," admitted Murasaki. "It keeps things exciting. Hey, Juizou just moved to 12-16. Ha, she trapped Shindou's stone between her own. Kind of looks like someone's eye; but it gave her an edge because her territory boundaries just expanded in that direction."

"Shindou played a stone at 11-15, extending down from his other stone," said Daiten. "I don't see what advantage he's hoping to get there, it would have been better to use a _keima_ to extend his influence over the central area. The 'knight's move' is a type of diagonal move that is very similar to _shimari_ and _kakari_, only it is mostly for play outside the corner areas."

"We'll see soon, hopefully," replied Murasaki. "Ah, Juizou just played at 12-15; a _tsuke_."

"And Shindou went to 10-11 with that _keima_ I was talking about earlier," said a sheepish Daiten. "I guess that other stone was just a step for something else he was planning." He cleared his throat. "Ahem! As you can see here, Shindou still dominates the board by having control over the left side, a good portion of the center, and more than half the bottom area. What will we see next?"

"Shindou is starting to overwhelm her and they've only exchange forty-eight hands!" exclaimed Murasaki. "Juizou also used a _keima_, and moved a piece to 11-13. This is getting tricky, now. I think our 4-dan player might have fallen into a trap she can't get out of. Let's hope she finds her way out! That _keima_ looks like it's in good position; Shindou's territory is reduced if he tries to play in that area."

"_Keima_ again! Shindou plays at 9-14. He seems to have a slight territory reduction because of Juizou's smart move earlier, so now Juizou has control over the upper right area," said Daiten.

"Juizou strikes at 11-17 with a _hane_ that caps off one end point of Shindou's two connected stones. Shindou's advantage is starting to shrink, little by little," said Murasaki. "She's doing it, folks! Give her some encouragement! But be subtle about it!" The crowd murmured their quiet approval. At the back, Touya simply watched the board, his own strategies passing through his head about how he would handle things. Shindou seemed to be going somewhat easy on the 4-dan, although she wasn't too shabby either. He settled for just watching. Maybe he could get Shindou to agree to a discussion of it afterwards.

"Shindou retaliates with a stone at 10-14, which creates a foundation for a stone cluster that cannot be cut apart. If Juizou tries to cut at either 10-15 or 11-14, Shindou can simply block her," said Daiten.

"Juizou went to 10-15, putting Shindou's stones into a state of _atari_, but Shindou can just connect at the 11-14 point and that would prevent the stones' capture," explained Murasaki. "Like he did just now. Juizou can't cut him at that point; it's more likely that Shindou would be able to slice apart her cluster since she has a few vulnerable cutting points."

"Looks like she got rid of the cutting point at 10-17," observed Daiten.

"Shindou cut her at 12-17, but I see a way for Juizou to counterattack. His cutting stone can be put into a state of _atari_," said Murasaki.

"Yes, I see it," replied Daiten. "Juizou moves to 13-17 with the intention to capture Shindou's cutting stone, but he extends to 12-18 to prevent that."

"She follows him at 13-18 so he will forced to go left or risk being cut," said Murasaki. "This girl has guts."

"Shindou makes a cut at 13-16; my, this looks like a race now. We all know who is likely to fall into a state of _atari_ first, but obviously Shindou must have an ace up his sleeve," remarked Daiten, with an unidentifiable emotion in his voice.

"Juizou plays at 11-18, as predicted," commented Murasaki. "Shindou will likely follow suit at 13-15, and then Juizou will capture his stones at - wait a minute, if she captures his stones then - !"

"That's right." Daiten nodded gravely. "She loses control over part of her territory in the upper right corner, giving Shindou an opening to invade and secure it for himself."

Murasaki stared at the board where the two players were currently battling over territory. "This is Shindou's power - trickery," she murmured, tapping lightly on the 12-14 intersection. "If he moves here, her stones will be in a state of _atari_."

"Juizou seems to know what she's doing though," added Daiten, smiling when he put up a white circle on the 12-14 intersection. "Instead of capturing Shindou's stones, she extended to prevent her own from suffering the same fate."

"That's actually problematic," said Murasaki, grimacing lightly when she assessed the situation. "Shindou just played at 12-13, blocking her from connecting with her stone at 11-13. He's caught her in a ladder. How will Juizou handle this new twist of fate?"

Daiten's eyes widened and he quickly looked at the board where she was pointing. "Well! Can't say I saw that coming," he admitted. "Shindou's quite slippery, wouldn't you say?" A few members of the crowd snickered at the comment.

"I think Juizou has realized what Shindou has set her up to," said Murasaki. "What do you folks think she'll do: try to escape the ladder, or allow Shindou to capture her stones now because there are less?"

"Escape the ladder!" yelled one man from the back. "She got stones down there in that corner they're heading to, she can do it!"

"Yeah!" chimed in another man.

"Good observation!" praised Murasaki. "I think so too." She hid the fact that she hadn't noticed Juizou's escape route until the man had pointed it out. That wouldn't be too pretty.

"They've started the ladder chase," said Daiten. "Look at them go!"

After a minute, Juizou finally connected to her lower stone at the 18-9 intersection. The crowd quietly cheered. "Looks like Shindou's plan may have backfired on him some," said Murasaki. "What will he do now?"

"Shindou definitely understands that completing the ladder trap is not possible at this point because his opponent is not stupid," observed Daiten. "Oh, he moved to 12-12. If he hadn't, it's possible Juizou would have either cut him or capture his stone. Since Shindou can't finish his ladder trap, she does not have a reason to worry as much about it."

"Juizou has just put Shindou into a tight spot by playing at 16-8 - double atari. This is very common when you have a ladder or multiple _kosumi_ all lined up diagonally," said Murasaki. "Shindou must choose which of his stones to save and which ones he must sacrifice. I think it's obvious which ones he is more likely to save. What do you think, Daiten?"

"Same as you, most likely," replied Daiten, squinting at the board. "There is no way he would move to 17-7, because then he would still be in a state of atari, and that would put him at a disadvantage for a waste of a turn."

"Exactly," nodded Murasaki sagely. "And we are right of course. Shindou just played a stone at - whoa, new development! Looks like Shindou has decided to ignore the double atari; such boldness from one so young. He has played a stone at the 11-12 intersection instead, also threatening _atari_ against Juizou."

"Oh? How interesting," said Daiten, smirking. "Juizou just made a very spontaneous move to 8-17. What is she thinking, I wonder? Is she trying to push back the boundaries of her opponent's territory? Certainly a bit late for that; Shindou still dominates the whole left side because he and Juizou are too busy fighting over the right side to care."

"Shindou has decided that Juizou's stone is a threat to his corner, because he moved to 8-15 in lieu of this unexpected play," said Murasaki. "And it did reduce some of his corner territory, so he feels the need to defend it."

"Juizou finally took out two of Shindou's stones by playing a stone at 12-19," said Daiten. "She probably intends to fix her shapes up. They aren't looking too solid at the moment."

"Shindou used a _keima_ to land at the 6-17 intersection, which forms an open square with three of his stones and one of Juizou's," commented Murasaki. "This move parallels his opening enclosure moves in the beginning, and helps to protect his corner."

"Juizou fills the gap between Shindou's stone and her own stone by playing at 7-17," said Daiten. "She's planning to invade his corner."

"He rebuffs her advance by playing a _kosumi_ - a diagonal - at 7-16. If Juizou tries to move to either 6-16 or 7-15, he can easily capture her stone because they will be in _atari_," announced Murasaki. "Isn't this getting exciting, folks?"

"But it looks like Juizou found another way in - she uses a _hane_ at 6-18 to get around Shindou's defenses," said Daiten, pausing to scratch his nose a little. "Although, as you can see, Shindou has other defenses on that side too."

"Exactly," said Murasaki. "He can solidify a wall in that area so Juizou can't get through. Like his play at 5-17."

"Juizou followed him by extending to 5-18," reported Daiten. "Will she find a way in, or will Shindou keep his corner?"

"And Shindou blocks her at 4-18! Ouch, it looks like she can't attempt a cut because then her stone will be in _atari_," announced Murasaki.

"Wow, she's pretty determined," whistled Daiten. "She played a _hane _at 4-19 to once again get over and avoid Shindou's defense."

"Unfortunately that won't be enough," sighed Murasaki, tapping on the board. "Shindou just blocked her at 3-19."

"Juizou has decided to reluctantly retreat for now," said Daiten. "She prevented a cut by playing at 7-18."

"Shindou used a _kosumi_ at 9-16 to form two tentative eye shapes, but they are not completely solid yet," said Murasaki. "Folks, in order for a cluster to be considered 'alive', they need at least two solid eyes. Be wary of 'fake eyes', between what may seem like an eye shape may not actually be so, because it can be captured."

"Juizou connected her stones at 9-17 to prevent Shindou from using _atari_ on the right cluster," said Daiten. "Now Shindou can't take over that cluster unless he tries to wrap around the whole thing."

"Shindou's still in the lead with a staggering 37 moku because of that insane patch of territory he's pretty much warded off," said Murasaki. "Demon indeed, hoarding all that land for himself."

"They've only exchange about a hundred or so hands," replied Daiten. "The outcome may be different still - Shindou just played at 3-18 to prevent his stones from being cut."

"Juizou put a stone at 9-15; she intends to capture Shindou's stone so she gains an eye," said Murasaki.

"Shindou made a solid connection at 10-12 to further define the boundary lines of his vast territory, which also mimics Juizou's intention to create an eye shape via _atari_," explained Daiten. "Juizou's lone stone is already dead, so there's no particular need to capture it."

"Juizou has taken Shindou's stone prisoner by playing at 8-16," said Murasaki. "She also threatens to cut him at 8-14."

"Not if he can help it," said Daiten. "He just solidified his connection there. Trying to cut through the other areas would be plain suicide considering all she would do is land herself in _atari._"

"Juizou has moved on though," replied Murasaki. "She played at 13-8. Does everyone see what I see?"

"I see an attempt to create another set of eye shapes," said Daiten. "Because Shindou's ladder trap failed, she can use that area to her advantage."

"Exactly!" beamed Murasaki.

"Shindou has chosen to ignore that space for now, because it looks like he's focusing more on the bottom area," said Daiten. "He played a stone at 17-2."

"Juizou follows him with a _hane _at 18-2," said Murasaki. "By playing at that intersection, she has successfully reclaimed part of that territory as her own."

"Shindou has played a stone on the 12-5 intersection," said Daiten, putting up a magnetic black circle on that spot. "I think he intends to put Juizou's cluster in _atari_."

"Juizou threatens double atari at 14-10," announced Murasaki. "So far Shindou has been ignoring these small capture threats - are they minor to him? Do they not matter?"

"There's probably a bigger picture in his brain that he sees," agreed Daiten. "Oh, wait. He didn't ignore it this time; he played at 13-11."

"Juizou retaliated by making a solid connection at 13-10," said Murasaki.

"And Shindou used a _kosumi _at 12-10 to expand his territory even more," commented Daiten. "Pretty greedy, that one."

"But he's good at holding on to it," said Murasaki. "Juizou's struggling to stay afloat - whoa there! Juizou has just totally thrown us for a loop by making a bold, unexpected, and rather strange move deep into Shindou's territory. What could she be planning, playing a stone on the star point 4-10?"

"Shindou has definitely viewed that move as a threat, because he used a _tsuke_ at 5-10," said Daiten.

"Juizou follows up with a _kosumi_ to 3-11," reported Murasaki. "She's starting to steal some of Shindou's territory away from him, folks!"

"Shindou used _ikken tobi_ to move to 3-9, shifting the balance of territory neutralization towards the upper area of the board," explained Daiten.

"Ouch, Juizou's invasion may have been too deep," winced Murasaki. "Juizou played a stone at 5-11, but Shindou's one-point jump has helped him reclaim some of his territory."

"Shindou has just made his move at 5-9," announced Daiten.

"Juizou attempted to separate Shindou's stones by playing at 4-9," said Murasaki.

"Shindou blocked her at 4-8," said Daiten. "But she can still cut through this right part since he has no defense set up there."

"Juizou played _keima _at 4-13. Just what is this girl thinking? We all wonder," said Murasaki. "Of course, spontaneity can be a good thing because you can catch your opponents off guard that way."

"Shindou made a move at the opposite end of the board, at 18-12," said Daiten with a hint of disbelief. "Looks like he decided that the enemy was less threatening this round, and took off with the intention of making use of his failed ladder trap."

"Juizou used a _keima_ and moved to 6-13," said Murasaki. "When I myself contemplate the various options, I find that most of them just end up boosting Shindou's territory points up."

"Admirable that she doesn't give up, but by this point I seriously doubt she will win this game," said Daiten. "She is up against Shindou, the 'Demon', so I applaud her for her bravery. The boy just made a move at 5-14, a _kosumi_."

"Juizou made a solid connection at 5-13," said Murasaki. "It's pretty hard to snatch territory from Shindou, huh?"

"In my opinion he actually seems to be going a little easier on her than some of his past opponents," muttered Daiten so only Murasaki could hear. "This is only a demonstration match, after all, and he isn't up against an opponent like Touya Akira."

Murasaki nodded. "Yes, I see your point," she said. She cleared her throat briefly.

Daiten looked to see Shindou's next move. "Shindou has placed a stone at 12-4, finally forcing Juizou's stones down there into a state of _atari_," he announced. "This puts him at a major advantage over white."

"Juizou makes a jump - _ikken tobi_ - to the 7-11 intersection," said Murasaki. "It barely lowered Shindou's outrageously large lead."

"Shindou attacked with a _katatsuki_ at 8-12," commented Daiten. "The 'shoulder hit': smart move there, actually. It lowered his territory points, but the area there is now neutral. Also, _katatsuki_ is a favorable move because you can not only attack your opponent with it, but it is more difficult to capture the stone used for it. The 'shoulder hit' is like a _kosumi_, except that you're moving diagonal towards an opponent's stone rather than your own."

"Juizou played a stone at 8-11, just below Shindou's stone," said Murasaki. "Shindou's territory has actually decreased a little, although his lead is still overwhelming."

"Shindou made a move at 7-12," said Daiten. "That area is still neutralized thanks to Shindou's stones."

"Juizou used _ikken tobi_ - the one-point jump - to hop over to the 7-9 intersection," said Murasaki. "That's still a further decrease in Shindou's territory space. She's on to him, folks!"

"Shindou made a connection at 5-8; the right side of that patch of territory is still neutral," said Daiten. "Neither Shindou nor Juizou have tried to claim it for themselves as of yet."

"It looks like Juizou wants it, though," added Murasaki with a quick smack to the board. "She has already jumped into the area. And look, she's spreading her stones around in it. She moved to 7-7 with another _ikken tobi_."

"Shindou managed to salvage some of his space by playing an _ogeima _at 8-4," said Daiten. "The 'large knight's move' is exactly what it sounds like: an extended version of the _keima._ The _keima_ is usually capped across two spaces, but the _ogeima_ stretches across three."

"Juizou jumped again, this time to 7-5," said Murasaki. "The thing about that move is that it also doubles as a _katatsuki_; it hits against Shindou's earlier move, but the diagonal shape will make it hard to capture."

"Shindou peeped at 8-6," said Daiten. "A peep is when you threaten to cut through an opponent's 'one-point jump' space."

"Juizou is then forced to save her stones before they are all separated," reasoned Murasaki. "She connected at 7-6. However, this action also caused much of the neutral territory to come under Shindou's control. Let's see if Juizou can get to it."

"6-4 is Shindou's next move," said Daiten. "Though Juizou may be on the offensive, she still has a long way to go in order to close the gap between them."

"Juizou played a _hane _at 8-7, which takes off one of the liberties of Shindou's former peeping stone," said Murasaki. "It's getting harder to find options that decrease Shindou's territory, rather than help him gain more."

"Shindou just extended at 9-6 to escape the threat of _atari_," said Daiten. "In the process he has managed to keep the same amount of territory points without losing any to his opponent."

"Juizou tried to cut Shindou's stones apart! Her move at 8-5 is intended to cut off that small group from the rest of the stones so she can capture them," announced Murasaki. "No doubt he'll be hard at work throwing her off!"

"Not really," sighed Daiten, sticking the hundred forty-fifth circle up on the magnetic go board. "He blocked her at 9-5. She can try to cut through, but I honestly don't think that would do her much good."

"She went to 9-7," said Murasaki. "She probably wants to cut off Shindou's stones from the other clusters closer to the center."

"Shindou played a stone at 10-7 to secure his boundary lines, although there are two cutting points that Juizou could take advantage of," replied Daiten.

Murasaki waited for Juizou's next move, before turning back to the audience and speaking loudly, "Juizou has decided not to utilize one of the cutting points, and instead has extended at 7-4. The purpose behind this is the continual shrink of Shindou's large lead. Will the famous 'Demon' make a comeback, folks? We'll find out!"

"Shindou blocked her at 7-3, but now he has another cutting point that Juizou can slice through," commented Daiten. "However, Shindou was pretty clever at the set-up; cutting through any of these points would _not_ be beneficial to her. It would actually increase Shindou's territory by a very small margin."

"Juizou played a _hane_ at 10-8, which may or may not benefit her depending on whether Shindou decides to act in that area," said Murasaki.

"Shindou closed the gap at 11-8, so whatever tentative plans she had were probably just dashed," said Daiten, almost sympathetically.

"Juizou has decided to solidify her own connection at 9-8," said Murasaki. "Right now Shindou's territory is in a stalemate: it's neither shrinking nor growing. Not for long though, am I right?"

"Correct. This time it's Shindou's turn to threaten double atari," said Daiten. "He played a stone at 9-3. This caused his territory to grow by one point."

"Wow, look at what we have here!" said Murasaki excitedly. "Juizou just made a move at 8-9, shrinking Shindou's territory more than he made it grow! She's doing it, folks! The 'Demon' doesn't have that monstrous of a lead anymore."

"Shindou used _ikken tobi_ to jump to 2-13," spoke Daiten calmly. "This has caused his lead to rise again."

"Juizou connected at 6-11," said Murasaki. "Contemplating other moves, I realized that the intersection Juizou chose to play at is actually her best option because other moves would just cause Shindou's territory to skyrocket back up."

"Shindou made his move at 3-13," said Daiten. "What do you think is the purpose behind this move, Murasaki?"

"Well, Daiten," answered Murasaki, after examining the board, "I think he's trying to both increase his territory and neutralize the miniature territory areas that Juizou has managed to make inside his original patch."

"Still, one would think he might try to create his eye shapes over on the right instead, where he has killed Juizou's lone stone," mused Daiten.

"Possibly!" said Murasaki. "Juizou played a stone at 3-12 to block him. She's going after the eye shapes."

"Shindou saw what she's attempting, so he played a stone at 6-12 to prevent her from getting two shapes," said Daiten.

"Juizou connected at 5-12 to block him," said Murasaki. "What will Shindou do next?"

"Shindou made a move at 4-14," said Daiten. "He's preventing her from getting into the corner."

"Juizou doesn't care," said Murasaki. "She played a stone at 6-10."

"Shindou played 6-9," said Daiten. "What's the reason behind that move, I wonder?"

"For one it prevents Juizou from making a solid connection there," said Murasaki, shrugging lightly. "Juizou made a move at 8-8."

"Shindou used a _kosumi_ at 8-13," reported Daiten. "I think I spy an eye shape there."

"Juizou formed an eye at 9-9!" announced Murasaki. "Now she just needs another solid eye and her cluster will be able to stay alive."

"Shindou made a solid connection at 8-14," said Daiten. "He ignored Juizou because there's nothing in particular he can do to stop her from creating the eyes."

"Juizou finished her second eye at 8-10, which means her cluster is now alive and cannot be killed," said Murasaki. "Shindou's got his work cut out for him to remain in the lead!"

"Shindou's working on his own eye shapes, I see," said Daiten. "He placed a stone at 10-10; double eyes on his next turn."

"Juizou put down a stone on the 3-10 intersection, linking her stones together solidly," said Murasaki. "As this game draws closer to _yose_ - end game - who will at last triumph? We all think Shindou's got this game in the bag, but who knows? Juizou might be able to pull out the rug from under our feet!"

_Not likely,_ thought Touya from the back of the crowd. _The Shindou I know won't allow that, not even for a demonstration game._

"Shindou brat! You better not lose, you hear me?" hollered a loud, somewhat gruff voice from somewhere in the crowd, startling much of the audience.

"Sir, please be quiet and allow us to continue without interruptions," snapped Murasaki as politely as she could. "Otherwise we will have to call security to escort you out."

Whoever it was grumbled incoherently, but he did not speak up again. The commentators turned back to the game being played and resumed their duties.

"Shindou's next move turned out to be a connection at 10-9, filling in that space so white can't cut through him," said Daiten.

"Juizou pushes a stone to 6-8. I can't see a reason for why she chose to move here; perhaps it is a filler move until she can figure how else to wrest territory away from her opponent?" suggested Murasaki, tapping on the white circle Daiten put up.

"Wow! Shindou just made a huge leap across the board and played an unexpectedly good move at 16-14, creating a quadruple atari situation close to the boundaries of Juizou's corner territory in that upper right!" exclaimed Daiten. "That one sure caught me by surprise!"

"Juizou calmly counters by using _ikken tobi_ to jump to 14-15," said Murasaki. "How will Shindou handle this new development?"

"Shindou blocked _atari_ by playing a stone at 15-14," said Daiten. "He's managed to save some of his stones there."

"Juizou connected at 15-15. I think she's trying to corner him in that area," said Murasaki.

"Mm." Daiten made a noncommittal shrug along with a faint noise. "I don't think he'll allow her. He created two eyes by playing at 17-13."

"Juizou made a move at 17-14, which kills one of his eyes because it's in a state of _atari,_" said Murasaki.

"Shindou used a _hane _at 18-14, threatening Juizou's stone with _atari,_" said Daiten.

"Too late though, Juizou just took four of his stones prisoner by playing a stone at 16-13," said Murasaki.

"Then Shindou moves in for the kill at 17-15," said Daiten. "Now, Juizou has two options: allow Shindou to capture her stone, or create a _ko fight_. A 'ko fight' is when two opponents are both in a state of _atari_, but they are connected. If one opponent captures the other opponent's stone, which is needed to complete _atari_, then the ko fight begins. The opponents take turns capturing each other's stones and it goes on and on until one of the opponents fills in the space, thus ending the fight."

"Juizou chose to initiate the ko fight," announced Murasaki.

"One thing about the 'ko fight'," said Daiten, turning to the audience. "You must wait at least one turn before you can take your opponent's stone. If your opponent chooses to fill in the space to prevent you from capturing his or her stone, then the ko fight ends. Shindou can't capture Juizou's stone this turn, so he needs to play at a different spot. Luckily for him, he already set up another _atari_ threat. He captured Juizou's stone with a move at 16-14."

"Juizou begins a second ko fight by playing a stone at 15-14," said Murasaki. "Which leaves an opening for Shindou to capture her stone from the first ko fight."

"And he takes it," added Daiten. "He played at 16-12, and captured her stone."

"Juizou took Shindou's stone prisoner by setting a stone at the 17-14 intersection," said Murasaki.

"Shindou put a stone at the 19-13 intersection. Next turn he'll have the opportunity to continue the ko fight," said Daiten.

"Juizou takes Shindou's stone from the original ko fight by playing at 17-12," said Murasaki. "I'm sure Shindou will return to favor."

"Yes, he will," agreed Daiten. "As a matter of fact, he did. A stone to 16-14 gets his prisoner."

"As amusing as the ko fights are, they must also progress in other areas," said Murasaki. "That's why they're given a turn limit, so they don't spend all their time on the ko fights and ignore the other parts of the board. Juizou played a stone at 19-10, putting another of Shindou's stones into _atari_."

"Shindou blocks her by solidifying the connection at 18-11," confirmed Daiten.

"And the ko fight continues," said Murasaki. "Juizou played at 17-14."

"Shindou retaliates at 16-12 once again," said Daiten. "Now what will they do as they wait a turn to fight again?"

"Juizou threatened _atari_ again," announced Murasaki. "She played a stone at 17-16."

"Shindou foiled her by moving a stone to 18-15," said Daiten. "Through unlikely circumstances, he is pulling through with his demonic stubbornness." He winked at the audience. A few people laughed.

"The epic saga of the double ko fight continues!" said Murasaki enthusiastically. "Of course, Juizou put a stone at 17-12."

"And Shindou returns the favor at 16-14," said Daiten. "Will it ever end? Or will we be stuck seeing this go on even during _yose_?" He gestured outward in a wide, dramatic fashion.

"Here we go, the one-turn wait," said Murasaki. "Juizou plays a stone at 19-9 so Shindou can't try to capture her stone at 19-10."

"Shindou extended to 17-16. He probably has his sights set on that patch of territory in the upper right corner," said Daiten. "Maybe he'll even try to steal away Juizou's portion of territory, too."

"Ko fight!" declared Murasaki cheerfully.

"Yep, ko fight," sighed Daiten.

"Okay, now Juizou tried to block Shindou by playing a stone at 18-17," said Murasaki.

"Shindou remains undeterred by her efforts," said Daiten. "He moved to 19-11 to create an eye for himself."

"And this turn, of course, everyone should all know by now," said Murasaki. "The ko fight."

"Shindou follows suit, of course," said Daiten.

"Juizou momentarily jumped back over to the other side of the board with a move at 5-6," said Murasaki.

"Shindou counters with a _katatsuki_ at 4-5," said Daiten. "It saves his territory in the corner from being neutralized."

"Ko fight!" the two commentators called out simultaneously.

"Right, after that episode of Shindou-Juizou ko fight, Juizou placed a stone at 5-19," said Murasaki. "Her formerly dead stone is now connected to the other cluster."

"Meanwhile Shindou is still dealing with Juizou's spontaneous jump to 5-6," commented Daiten. "He put down a stone at the 5-5 intersection. He probably intends to form a solid wall around that corner to Juizou can't get into it. But will his plan succeed?"

"Hey, Juizou decided to end the ko fight!" said Murasaki, pointing at the board. "She played at 16-14 to block Shindou from taking the piece."

"And in return, Shindou fills up the gap for his own cluster," said Daiten.

"Juizou extended at 4-6, inching her way towards the corner," said Murasaki.

"Shindou blocks her at 3-6," said Daiten. "He definitely wants to keep his corner. No way he's going to let her have it! If Juizou attempts to cut, she'll be in a state of _atari_; not that cutting would have helped her much in the first place."

"Juizou attempts to sneak into the upper left corner by playing a stone at 2-12," said Murasaki.

"Shindou firmly denies access with a well-placed stone to 1-13," said Daiten.

"Juizou simply extended to 1-12, paralleling his move," said Murasaki. "Shindou's territory advantage is still shrinking - what was the lead way back, like around sixty moku? Now it's down to less than twenty!"

"It actually fluctuates between somewhere in the twenties and somewhere below twenty," said Daiten. "And Shindou just moved to 2-9. He's ready to close off the corner."

"Juizou plays a stone at 1-10 - _ikken tobi_. Though it might also count as a _katatsuki_ - shoulder hit," mused Murasaki. "She knows she can't stop Shindou from closing his corner to her, but she's determined to snatch up what bits of territory she can."

"As expected, Shindou completely seals off that part with a stone at 1-9," said Daiten.

"Juizou moved at 2-10 to wall off that small bit of territory she could get," said Murasaki. "Now they'll move into another area and continue fighting."

"Shindou jumps to 17-1 to block off that entrance as well. Now that territory is truly his, unless she attempts an invasion. I don't think she will though," said Daiten. "It's too risky."

"Not to mention, Shindou's got most of his cutting points guarded, except for one," said Murasaki. "Juizou has decided it's about time she defined the boundaries of her territory too. She connected at 16-5."

"Shindou extended to 19-16. Even though his ladder trap failed, he managed to gain a little bit of territory in that area," said Daiten.

"Juizou solidified her connection at 18-1," said Murasaki. "Though she may not be able to get that whole corner, she is still able to keep that portion off to the side for herself."

"Shindou makes his move at 19-17. He is starting to creep towards Juizou's other corner. Will she stop him before he sinks his claws into it?" Daiten dramatically asked.

"Juizou looks like she's going to try to block him off on the eighteenth column," said Murasaki. "She put down a stone at the 18-18 intersection."

"Shindou extended at 19-18. He knows he won't make it, but I guess he wants to fill up the space anyway," shrugged Daiten.

"Juizou finally barricaded him at 18-19," announced Murasaki. "Now she'll probably go back down to her other corner to secure her territory there."

"Shindou made his move to 19-19," said Daiten.

"There isn't much work needed to 'secure' territory," said Murasaki. "So Juizou just captured two of Shindou's stones with a stone at 14-16."

"Shindou made a connection at 6-14," reported Daiten. "His point advantage is actually going back up a little bit."

"Juizou made triple eyes at 15-9," said Murasaki.

"Shindou solidified his wall at 3-14," said Daiten. "Now Juizou can't access that area. In fact, I think this game is coming to close, as there isn't much left to take care of, and if Juizou tries to invade now she probably won't make it."

"She'll keep fighting until there's really nothing left for her," said Murasaki. "She played a stone at 6-5."

"Shindou made an eye with his stone at 12-8," said Daiten. "Now they're really fighting over the last bits of unclaimed territory."

"Juizou connected at the 9-11 intersection," spoke Murasaki. "By now very few spots are neutral."

"Shindou finally put down a stone at the 9-12 intersection," said Daiten. "All the territory in that rectangular box is his now, include Juizou's dead stone."

"Juizou filled up the gap at 9-10," said Murasaki. "Now what will they do next?"

"Shindou claimed the 12-9 intersection, so the only neutral parts left are these two," said Daiten, indicating the intersections with his fingers.

"They won't be neutral for long," said Murasaki. "Juizou took 4-7. Smart move, since Shindou won't be able to get 5-7 without getting captured."

"Shindou decided to play a stone at 3-8 instead," said Daiten.

"And Juizou takes the last neutral intersection, 5-7," said Murasaki. "More might pop up later, but at the moment everything on the board is either Shindou's or Juizou's."

"Shindou made an unexpected move at 6-7," said Daiten. "Is he playing around, or what?"

"Juizou noticed, of course," said Murasaki. "She captured the stone with a move at 6-6."

"Shindou decided to get rid of the dead stones on the board, so he played at 14-1," said Daiten.

"Juizou took away a dead stone with a stone at 17-7," said Murasaki. "I think their game is just about to end, since Juizou won't be able to do anything after…"

"Shindou solidified his last cutting point at 10-6," said Daiten.

"And Juizou's move - maybe even final move? - is at 17-3," said Murasaki.

"Shindou creates another eye at 13-4," said Daiten.

"Juizou… also makes an eye at 18-5," said Murasaki. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Daiten?"

"That these two are just going to make eyes all over the place until it's over? Pretty much," answered Daiten, scratching the back of his neck. "What else could they do besides that? There's no point in trying to invade each other's territories anymore because that would just create a bunch of dead stones that nobody really cares about." He shrugged, cracking his neck a little. Standing up here for a long period of time was taxing. "As I thought, or we thought, Shindou just made an eye again. At 14-3. Double."

"Juizou: 19-4, single," said Murasaki.

"Shindou: 16-1, double," said Daiten.

"Juizou: 19-2, double," said Murasaki.

"Shindou: 11-5, single," said Daiten.

"Juizou: 7-19, single," said Murasaki.

"Shindou: 9-13, double," said Daiten.

"Juizou: 17-18, single," said Murasaki.

"Shindou: 10-4, double," said Daiten.

"Juizou - oh. She admitted defeat," said Murasaki quietly. "And folks, we have a winner! Our victor is: Shindou Hikaru, shodan! Clocking in with an astonishing 22.5 moku lead, our lucky little Go pro triumphs over his opponent in an exciting match before all of you people out there. Let's give our winner a hearty round of applause!"

Shindou winced a little when everyone stood up and loudly cheered and clapped for him. Ugh. He never wanted to do a demonstration game again. He had to go _slowly_. Slow was not his usual style. But then again, it could have been worse… he could have been chosen to be a commentator instead. And he dreaded that even more than being one of the participants.

_Tolerate it for now,_ he told himself. He put on the brightest grin he could manage, and waved back.

_It's over._

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><p><strong>Holy shit and crackers on a popsicle stick, this thing was a MONSTROSITY to write. Game description began to page friggin' FIVE and ended on page TWENTY-FIVE. Oh my fucking god. Why did I do this to myself? It took me… four? five? days to write twenty pages of game description. School's over (I GRADUATED), so I did have a crap ton of free time to spend doing this. At least 2000 words a day, and I end up almost burning myself out.<strong>

**Reminder: I am not a professional Go player.**

**This makes up for my two month absence though, right? SAY YES.**

**Hey, it was 10,000+ words. No, I'm not kidding. This is THE longest chapter of this story. And like the longest chapter I've ever written. I think.**

**I sincerely hope you guys review and give me feedback on how well or poorly I wrote the description. Please. And be nice. No flames.**

**MangaFreak15**


	9. CH 9: Team Japan, I

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: Hikaru is not 'all-powerful.' He will lose at some point.**

**Wow, I am so sorry for leaving you guys for so long. I got lost on the road of life. By the way, the general consensus appears to be that I should focus less on game technicality and more on the players. I'll try to do that from now on.**

**On another note… we passed the 65K mark for hits. OMG.**

**Status: 8 chapters, 173 reviews, 66,101 hits, 39 c2's, 457 favs, 561 alerts.**

**Is it just me or did the stats just make a huge jump between this chapter and the last one?**

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><p><em><strong>Miles Across the Universe<strong>_

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><p><strong>IX. Team Japan, pt. 1<strong>

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><p>Waya was shaking. Hikaru eyed him with trepidation. The older teenager was viciously tearing into his burger, too infuriated to speak. His honey-brown eyes were narrowed down at the table, alight with an inner fire that seemed to be fueling his aggressive treatment of the food in his hands. And Hikaru already knew why, but wisely chose to keep his mouth shut on the topic until his friend brought it up himself.<p>

The burger was gone within a matter of minutes. No longer having an outlet for his irritation, Waya picked up his soda and began to slurp it noisily. He didn't care at all about the disgruntled looks being shot at them from the other customers. Hikaru sighed. Even he wasn't this bad on his worst days. It was probably Sai's influence from the past two years.

Waya slammed down his cup, now filled only with cubes of melting ice. For a moment he sat there. Then he burst out with a loud yell, "I can't _believe_ those old farts!" Unmindful of the fact that they were dining in a public place, the go player continued to rant, "What the hell do they think they're _doing,_ seeding Touya for the tournament but not you? You clearly won that game at the Wakajishisen, even if it was by a margin of half a moku, _and_ you came this close-" he indicated with his thumb and index finger "-to beating Touya Meijin at your new shodan game! Not to mention your win-loss record from the pro exam! That totally qualifies you for being automatically selected to participate in the Hokuto Cup, doesn't it? But nooo, the stupid administrators think you 'don't have enough experience' and should participate in the selection rounds like anybody else. Not enough experience, my _ass._ They're all just sucking up to that bastard Touya like he's the god of the world or something. Argh, this makes me so mad! I want to just punch them all in the face!" He ended his rant breathing harder than usual.

"Feeling better now?" Hikaru offered, finishing off the last bites of his own burger. He could understand the reason behind Waya's irritation, but he found that unlike the other boy, he didn't have much of a problem with it. The administrators' reasoning made sense to him, after all he had only been in the spotlight for… what, maybe a couple months? Touya had been in the spotlight for years, especially since he was currently a 4-dan and all. It didn't matter that much whether he or Touya was stronger; people just wanted to see a beautiful game being created by the meeting of two minds across the board. And Touya was clearly the more experienced of the two of them.

Waya huffed, blowing errant strands of hair out of his face. He sagged against the back of his seat, having unleashed all his pent-up fury in that single rant. "Yeah, but I'm still pissed at them," he muttered. "That bastard Touya shouldn't get special treatment just because he's the son of Touya Meijin. That's not fair to everybody else if he's the only one who doesn't have to work for the position."

Hikaru grimaced. Well, when Waya put it that way, he was more inclined to agree. "Well, not like we can do anything about it. Besides, winning the selection rounds and securing a spot in the tournament will prove that I'm good enough to be playing in the Hokuto Cup, right?" He sipped at his soda.

Waya deflated. "Well, that's true, but… hey, wait, you mean you _agree_ with them?" He shot Hikaru an incredulous look. "Shindou! You're supposed to be on my side!"

Hikaru rolled his eyes at him. "It's not like that, Waya," he said. "I can understand why the administrators made the decision they did, and I'm fine playing the games to get myself a spot on the team representing Japan. Sure, it's probably unfair that Touya's the only one who was automatically chosen, but he _is_ one of the best players of our generation."

Waya grudgingly agreed, but that didn't mean he had to like it. "But you're _better_," he complained, slapping his hand on the table. He leaned forward with his eyebrows drawn together, looking like the very image of a puffed up housecat. "Touya's probably been playing since he was born and you've only been playing for two _years._ C'mon, Shindou, you can't say that you aren't some sort of mad genius at this game, being Sai's disciple and all that."

Hikaru shrugged, which only seemed to make his friend redden in indignation. "There are some things we can't change, Waya. The more you fight against it, the harder your life will be," he said quietly, his eyes darkening with inner grief. Waya looked as though he wanted to ask about it, but shook his head and decided that it wasn't his business to pry. Shindou would shut up tighter than a clam if he tried.

He threw up his hands in frustration. "I give up," he groaned. He slanted a glance at Hikaru. "You better kick some ass, then. Show those administrators that you're good enough to be in that tournament, _and_ that you're better than Touya."

Hikaru chuckled, the sound chasing away the shadows in his face. Waya was glad he managed that, at least.

"Say, Waya," said Hikaru, taking a sip of his drink. "I heard that the Kansai branch will send a few of their guys over here for the qualifying rounds. Think any of them will be a challenge?"

"For you? Pah," Waya snorted. "I doubt it. You'd probably whoop their asses so fast, they wouldn't know what hit them until the game was over."

"But there's that one guy, whatshisname, who's around our age and he also just became a professional," said Hikaru. He scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Aw, I forgot his name… like Yashi-something-"

"Oh, that guy. Yashiro Kiyoharu, the teenager with silver hair?" said Waya. "He might be pretty good, I guess, since he became a pro. I doubt he'd match up to _you_, though. You beat Touya."

"I suppose," Hikaru concluded, "we'll just have to wait and see."

Waya shrugged. He stood up, just then noticing the lingering suspicious stares they were receiving from the other customers. His eye twitched. "What're you looking at, huh?" he asked, annoyed. "Never seen go players talk to each other before?"

They quickly averted their gazes. He stomped to the trash bin with his tray and dumped its contents inside. "Hurry up, Shindou!" he called over his shoulder. "We've got stuff to do!"

"Coming, coming," Hikaru sighed. Even if Yashiro didn't turn out to be as strong as him, he looked forward to facing the other teenager in a match to determine who would participate in the Hokuto Cup… that is, if they were slotted together for a game. If not, he could always ask the guy for a casual one later.

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><p>In a certain country far, far away (Korea)…<p>

Reclining lazily on a beige-colored leather couch, hands tucked underneath his head, one leg bent so that the knee was in the air and the foot was firmly planted on top of the couch cushions, the other leg dangling off the side, the auburn-haired boy looked to be the very picture of boredom. He yawned. His name was Ko Yeong-ha, one of Korea's top players in what was beginning to be considered the "new generation" because of their strength and youth. He himself was only eighteen years old, just barely past the cusp of adulthood.

As he stared up at the cream-colored ceiling, the gears in his mind began to whirl. He had been selected to participate in the upcoming Hokuto Cup, a newly founded professional go competition between China, Korea, and Japan. He gave a soft snort when he thought about Japan. They had gone soft in the past years - nothing at all like Honinbou Shuusaku, the greatest go player who had ever lived. China might put up a decent fight, but Yeong-ha was confident that Korea would come out on top. They had _him_, after all, and he definitely wasn't going to lose to anybody if he could help it.

His eyes narrowed. No, wait. Japan had Touya Akira, a player who had fully come into the spotlight a couple years ago by breezing through the pro exams without a single loss, although he had had high expectations from the start for being Touya Meijin's son. He had personally never met the guy, but he had studied his kifu in case he played him in the future. Touya was good, but Yeong-ha was better. The boy would at least put up a good fight. He liked challenges.

Thinking about Touya Akira also brought up another thing that had him piqued from the beginning: a young player rapidly rising in fame in Japan, nicknamed "The Demon" for his overpowering playing style that had completely dominated everybody in this year's pro exam. His name was Shindou Hikaru, and judging from the picture posted in the newspaper and online, the teenager looked like he belonged on a soccer field, not a go institute. The fringe of parted blond bangs falling slightly over cat-like green eyes, a slight smirk quirking at the lips as he faced the camera, and the casual, fashionable, and color-oriented clothing he tended to wear, plus the over-sized yellow-and-black sneakers he had - they simply screamed 'punk.' But Yeong-ha had studied Shindou's kifu, and they were _impressive._ He must have had an excellent teacher. Shindou had even defeated Touya Akira at the Wakajishisen in May, which proved something about the boy's incredible strength.

Yeong-ha smirked. He looked forward to meeting this Shindou Hikaru.

_Let the games begin._

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><p>The year passed rather peacefully, with all the new shodans out and about playing games with each other and other pros to rank up their points with the goal of promotion in mind. The first preliminary matches would begin in April, which was about three months away. Those would reduce the number of players competing for the two open spots on Japan's team for the Hokuto Cup. Then the second round would take place around two months later. If he was correct, then there were about four players from the Tokyo Go Institute and four players from the Kansai Go Institute who would be playing for the right to participate in the Hokuto Cup.<p>

It was too bad that Isumi was too old to compete, Hikaru reflected. He had enjoyed his match with the older boy at the Wakajishisen tournament.

On another note, he and Touya had become much more competitive as of late. Ever since defeating the other boy at the tournament, they had agreed to meet for a match every Saturday in the afternoon at Touya Kouyo's Go salon. The patrons were well-used to their arguments by now, although the first time it happened they were shocked right out of their seats at the sight of their cool, calm, composed go pro losing his composure and yelling right back at the boy with bi-toned hair. But they remained friends, somehow. Waya didn't understand how it was possible.

It was hard to actually pinpoint what made them _friends._ Touya Akira was naturally aristocratic, although he was painfully unsociable and even harder to interact with on remotely normal terms. Shindou Hikaru was the polar opposite: a whirlwind of cheerful grins and brightly colored clothing that belied his unbelievable strength in a serious game of go. Everybody and their moms could tell that they were rivals of the highest degree - all go professionals wanted the kind of rivalry that Shindou and Touya shared, because that mythical "Hand of God" they all strived to reach could not be attained by one person alone. And perhaps that was why Touya Meijin, although he was considered the king of the go world, had not found it. Touya Kouyo was the lone ruler on a seemingly-unreachable throne. Only Kouyo himself, aside from Hikaru and Akira, knew that his perfect rival had been Sai - only Sai was gone, and never again would one such as he appear again. But what aspect of Hikaru's and Akira's relationship made them friends? No one really knew the things that happened between the two outside of professional matches.

Wistfully, Touya Meijin looked upon the figure of his adolescent son striding back into the house with faint irritation lines marring his features. Akira was lucky that someone like Shindou Hikaru had risen up in the go world and challenged him. As he sat by himself at the goban, reconstructing the last game played between him and Sai, he wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like if he had been in Akira's place.

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><p>The first preliminary round of the Hokuto Cup selection began in April. Hikaru would be playing against an eighteen-year old 3-dan pro named Murasaki Kyousuke. Like any other pro up to date on recent go news, Kyousuke knew of the rumors surrounding the fifteen-year old kid, nicknamed "The Demon." While his cohorts had raved to him about it, Kyousuke wasn't about to acknowledge that some random kid who appeared out of nowhere could possibly be that good at go. He must have cheated somehow. He studiously ignored the fact that Shindou had passed the pro exam with no losses, defeated Touya Akira at the Wakajishisen, and nearly defeated Touya Meijin during his new shodan game.<p>

When the kid sat down in front of him, bright yellow clothing and all, Kyousuke had to suppress the urge to twitch. He closely examined his opponent, and softly snorted to himself. The boy looked like he couldn't even hurt a fly. Where was this so-called 'demon', huh? He sure as hell didn't see one.

"Begin!"

Something seemed to switch on in Shindou's mind at that one command, because suddenly, in front of a very much astonished Kyousuke, the boy began to exude a certain aura that had his opponent on guard and wary. The boyish face lost all traces of cheer, projecting forth the face of a serious individual ready to earn his victory. Shindou's green gaze sharpened. Kyousuke felt pinned into place, like a helpless butterfly on a display case. He shivered - this must be what everyone had been talking about. He shakily took his bowl of go stones and set it to the side, placing the lid next to it. They _nigiri_'d, and Shindou was black.

"Onegaishimasu," they murmured to each other, bowing.

Shindou's first move came swift and sure, settling into the _hoshi_ point in the upper right. Kyousuke replied with a move to the star point in the lower left. Shindou paralleled in the lower right. Kyousuke took the final corner star in the upper left.

From there it became a struggle beyond words for the eighteen year-old pro. Every move he made, every move he calculated with expert precision - they were all foiled and countered by the choices that Shindou made, as if he was reading so far ahead that he could predict Kyousuke's moves and set up traps to corner and cage him. He attempted to form an eye near his cluster close to the center, but Shindou's _katatsuki_ at the next moment forced him to relocate to a different section.

By now, Kyousuke was sweating bullets. The strength of the rumored demon was every bit as true as the rumors had said. Shindou wasn't _human._ Kyousuke felt very much like a small child swept up into a massive flood, unable to do anything but drown. There was no way to win this. A player like Shindou - Kyousuke had no doubts that the boy in front of him would be on Team Japan for the Hokuto Cup.

Shindou's black stone clicked into place ominously, sealing Kyousuke's fate. He bowed his head with a resigned sigh, _"Makemashita."_

Shindou thanked him for the game and started to gather his stones. Kyousuke mechanically did the same, his mind churning at the thought that his peers had been right all along. He would have to apologize for them. Shindou had gave him a damn good thrashing and got him off his high horse. The only people he could see the monstrous boy losing to were the higher dans and the title holders, though he was sure that the boy would surpass them within a few years. His strength made the idea seem feasible.

Kyousuke wondered who the boy's teacher was. As far as he knew, no public announcement had ever been made about Shindou's mentor, if he had one. The thought sent chills down his spine. There's no way someone like that could possibly exist. Yet Shindou's teacher… who and where was he, or she? The teen never spoke of his teacher. Who could it be?

Kyousuke shook his head as he made his way out of the room. Thinking about Shindou gave him a headache. He might as well go home and try to sleep it off.

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><p><strong>Sorry, it's not very long. I apologize for my absence (but to be fair, I said my update speed was crap in the first chapter). I looked through my files recently and found a partially-done chapter nine sitting in my folder. When I looked at it, I couldn't think of anything at all, so I rewrote it. And this is what came out. It's not proofread, by the way.<strong>

**So… do you guys like it better this way, with more focus on the players than the game itself? I know it's kind of hard to wade through jargon and such, so I'll be toning that down from now on. And I have no idea when the next chapter will come out, so be prepared for another possible long wait.**

**MangaFreak15**


	10. CH 10: Team Japan, II

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: Hikaru is a little more mature than in canon thanks to Sai's influence.**

**Wow, that was fast. Guess who's turning 19 in 5 days… oh yeah, warning! I dropped the f-bomb once.**

**Status: 9 chapters, 193 reviews, 75,503 hits, 40 c2's, 485 favs, 589 alerts.**

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><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across the Univers<span>e**_

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><p><strong>X. Team Japan, pt. 2<strong>

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><p>Two months after the initial preliminary round, the second round of matches to determine the remaining representatives for Team Japan began. Much to Waya's relief, all the players from the Tokyo Go Institute had been separated. Besides him, Ochi, Shindou, and some other player from the Institute, the remaining competitors were from the Kansai Go Institute, Central General Headquarters, and the Kansai General Headquarters. Among the players from Kansai was the rumored silver-haired teenager who Shindou wanted to play. It seemed he would get his wish after all. His first match was with the eighteen year-old from Central General Headquarters, but if both he and Yashiro won, they would be playing each other in the second game.<p>

The proctor cleared his throat softly. "Welcome to the second round of selection games to decide the remaining champions for Japan's team. You are allowed an hour and a half for this game, after that it's one minute per move. Whoever wins can eat lunch, but must come back for the next game beginning at three o'clock. Understand?" he explained.

A chorus of agreements greeted him. "You may begin," he said, checking his watch.

The dark-haired teenager eyed the younger boy seated across the goban from him. Unlike his peers, he wasn't going to underestimate this boy. "The Demon" had already slipped on his game face, serious green eyes gazing at him with fierce determination to win. The eighteen year-old carefully maneuvered his goke to the side, his eyes narrowing at his opponent. Even if he wasn't as strong as the fifteen year-old, he'd be damned if he didn't at least try. He wasn't a pro for nothing.

They _nigiri_'d. Shindou was black.

"Onegaishimasu," he murmured, bowing his head.

"Onegaishimasu," the eighteen year-old pro repeated, copying the younger boy. Their game began, and he patiently awaited Shindou's opening move.

Minutes ticked by, and he could hear the quiet clatter of go stones against wood as the other players began their own matches. Shindou had yet to make a move, which was starting to put his opponent on the edge. If this boy was as strong as he claimed, why did he feel the need to spend this much time on a single move?

At the ten-minute mark, Shindou's fingers finally dug into the go stones in his bowl. His first move clicked into place on the left side of the board: _komoku._ The older pro followed suit, setting his white stone on the upper right corner. Shindou took the lower right. The eighteen year-old secured the upper left corner. Shindou expanded his territory alone the left side of the goban by playing a stone close to his original _komoku_, strengthening his corner and extending the line of his territory at the same time.

The older pro's glasses shined in the artificial lighting. His hand moved quickly, placing his stone down at a strategic point on the board before hitting the button on top of the timer clock. As Shindou's timer began to tick down, the boy with bi-colored hair responded smartly with a _hane_. The clock was hit, and the timer began for the other pro.

No longer could he hear the sounds from the other players in the room. The older pro's tunnel vision was focused solely on the goban in front of him and the boy with the fearsome moniker sitting on the opposite side. His white stone clattered into place, beginning a ko fight near the center. In order to draw his attention away, Shindou promptly attacked one of his upper right clusters. The older pro's eyes widened almost imperceptibly as he realized if he didn't make a move to save it, Shindou would cut right through it and turn one of his eyes false. He snapped a white stone next to Shindou's offensive black stone, connecting the two ends of his cluster. Shindou then took his _ko_ stone prisoner.

The older pro looked around the goban, searching for a place to make a vital move so he could take control of the ko fight again. His eyes narrowed. _There!_ His hand flashed out with a white stone between his index and middle finger, falling into place near Shindou's seemingly weaker lower left cluster. But to his surprise, Shindou ignored his move and chose to place his next stone on _tengen._ What was the younger boy playing at? The older pro followed up on his move by reinforcing his assault on the lower left cluster. He looked up to gauge Shindou's expression. Frustration began to leak into him when he realized Shindou looked completely unconcerned, calmly using _ikken tobi_ to extend his territory towards the right side because he already had influence on the left.

_I'll show him,_ the eighteen year-old thought, determined. _Demon or not, I'll show him I'm not to be underestimated!_

_Pachi!_ His stone landed on 7-1, and then he realized what just happened.

_Shit!_ He had just fallen into one of Shindou's rumored elaborate traps. There was an almost feral glint of excitement in Shindou's green eyes as he responded with a well-aimed move to 8-2; a _katatsuki_ that sealed off the older pro's attempt to influence the left side. His invading moves were useless now. If he tried to keep them alive, Shindou's stones would surround them in an instant. He already had a smaller, separate cluster nearby to extend to, trapping him. It wasn't possible to kill the cluster, because Shindou's move had already assured victory. Shindou's cluster would live. His attack had failed. The older pro's hands clenched on his lap. He had to do something, _anything,_ or Shindou would - Shindou would - !

His eyes scoured the board desperately, seeking an opening. A sense of horrible resignation began to fill him as his gaze fluttered over the patterns of white and black stones. There were no openings. Whatever move he made now would be useless. He could try to keep up the ko fight near the center, but it was only a matter of time before that, too, fell entirely under Shindou's control. He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt a minor headache begin to build up.

They hadn't even reached _yose_ yet. Like all of his peers, he hadn't had the strength to surpass the fearsome "Demon". This teenager in front of him played on another level altogether, like some kind of other worldly being. It was over. He had lost. He bowed his head and murmured the words, _"Arimasen."_

He almost didn't hear Shindou as "_arigatou gozaimasu"_ was spoken to him. His lips moved automatically to repeat them, his fingers coming up to gather his white stones back to his goke. He had lost, even though he had taken Shindou's rumored strength into account. The boy was just too strong. His eyes came up, seeking Shindou's retreating back as he walked out of the room to eat lunch. A wry smile came to his face as he stood up after placing the bowl back on the goban. That kid was going to make waves in the world, and big ones, at that. He had already started. What kind of monster had been created in the past few years? Even though he hadn't been able to surpass the younger pro, he found himself strangely anticipatory of who Shindou would become in the future. He wondered if this was how the higher dans felt when watching their students grow and climb the ladder of the professional go world.

He idly made his way from the room, seeing no reason for him to remain there any longer. Shindou Hikaru was, without a doubt, going to be one of the representatives of Team Japan in the upcoming Hokuto Cup. He was sure of it.

He just hoped whoever was the manager of Team Japan had enough sense to place Shindou as first board.

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><p>"<em>Yashiro! You have to win for our sake!" His teammate grabbed him around the shoulders and shook him ferociously. "The Kansai Go Institute is counting on you. It'll look bad if both of us lose!"<em>

_The silver-haired teen brushed off the other pro, regarding him with a cool glance. "Do you know who my opponent is, Saitou-san?" he asked. "I personally don't care about how the Kansai Institute will look, but I don't intend to lose, even if my opponent is _him."

"_Him?" Yashiro sighed, as the other man looked clearly confused._

"_You know, him," Yashiro said, sipping at his drink. His eyes closed halfway and his mouth curled around his straw, giving him the look of a predator that had found new prey to toy with. "The demon of the Tokyo Go Institute: Shindou Hikaru."_

_Saitou gaped at him, his jaw hanging down to the table comically. "You're so fucked, Yashiro," he muttered. "No offense, you're definitely one of our strongest players, but-"_

_Yashiro cut him off, "Saitou-san, you know the rules. If I go into a game thinking that I'll lose, I will lose. And no matter how strong Shindou is, I'm going to take him head on and show him that I'm not to be messed with." Saitou gulped as Yashiro's steely eyes pierced him like twin daggers, aiming to kill. The youth's low voice continued, a note of excitement accompanying it, "Besides, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Shindou won't know what hit him."_

Yashiro was reasonably confident in his skills, but no matter how tough he acted on the exterior, inside he was just a tad nervous. His opponent was Shindou Hikaru, after all. He had seen some of Shindou's kifu before, and the first time he glimpsed them he had felt that the gap between them was enormous. How could someone his own age be so _strong?_ But that had been then. This was now, and he hadn't been lying to Saitou when he had said he had something up his sleeve. Although it was a mostly untested move because of its low efficiency, no one who knew Yashiro could say that he was a conventional go player. Unconventional was his trade mark.

Shindou seated himself in _seiza_ on the other side of the goban, his green eyes coming up and clashing with Yashiro's own steel-colored gaze. Both of them regarded each other with mutual challenging looks, like two army generals acknowledging each other before the bloody battle. Shindou nodded at him. Yashiro's lips stretched into a tightly controlled grin. His hands almost shook with the force of his excitement threatening to burst from him, but he steadied them. It was almost time to test _that move, _although he had to make sure he went first in order to pull it off. He wondered how Shindou would respond. At least, he reflected as his hands took the goke off the goban, Shindou wouldn't give him a boring game.

Yashiro's luck seemed to hold out, because he ended up as black. He had to fight down the shark-like grin that threatened to carve itself on to his face. A good game of go needed his utmost concentration in order to win. He couldn't afford to be distracted by something as silly as involuntary facial expressions.

"Onegaishimasu," they murmured, bowing to each other. And the game began.

Yashiro wasted no time in putting down his first move. A resounding _clack_ met his ears. He looked up in time to watch as a shocked expression crossed Shindou's face, and in his mind he smiled victoriously. He could almost hear the gears turning in the other pro's head, _First move at 5-5?!_ It wasn't the first time in history that the move had been played, but considering its riskiness, it was rarely used. Yashiro settled back, waiting for Shindou's response.

_What will you do, Shindou?_ he asked silently, meeting Shindou's gaze across the goban.

Shindou's lips quirked upwards in interest after the shock had worn off, sending his own silent reply back, _Just watch me._

_Pachi!_

Now it was Yashiro's turn to be surprised. Second hand at _tengen?_ He definitely hadn't anticipated that response. Shindou was every bit as unorthodox as he was, it seemed. Well, he wasn't going to back down from that.

_Third hand, 5-5._

What followed after was a vicious and unrelenting battle that remained mostly in Shindou's favor, much to Yashiro's dismay. He didn't show it on his face, but despite his own unconventionality, Shindou had gone above him. They had danced around _tengen _in the beginning, neither side giving in, before they moved on. It was the most intense, yet bizarre game Yashiro had ever played in his life. Not even playing against his own teacher made him feel this crushing pressure weighing down on him. Shindou was like an impenetrable stone fortress that just wouldn't _crumble_ no matter how much Yashiro hacked away at him.

He was so concentrated on the game that he never noticed the crowd that his and Shindou's game had garnered. They moved to a separate room to discuss the game, the man chosen to keep an eye on the game's progression running back and forth to point out the next moves the players had chosen. Nobody could make heads or tails of the strange game. The sheer level that Shindou's and Yashiro's minds operated on left the group mind-boggled.

Meanwhile Ochi had won his game with Waya. He arrogantly remarked that Waya just wasn't at his level, and was therefore unfit to compete in the international Hokuto Cup. Waya glared at him balefully, probably cursing him in his head. Ochi merely sniffed and went to take a look at Shindou's game. There was no way he could possibly lose to that unknown Kansai pro.

But when he got there, he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened and he stood there, frozen in shock at the sight of the patterns of stones on the goban. _What… is THIS…_ The game was _impossible_ to understand. He couldn't even clearly see who was winning, though he knew without a doubt that it had to be Shindou. The guy had beaten _Touya Akira_, for go's sake, and everybody thought that Touya Meijin's son was the most promising one of his generation.

"Ochi?" Waya came up beside him, peering curiously down at the bizarre game being played in front of their eyes. Ochi watched as the same shell-shocked expression flashed across the wild-haired boy's face. He turned back to the game. He didn't understand it either.

Someone entered the room, scurried over to the game, glanced down at it for a few moments, and then turned to head back out of the room. Ochi and Waya both followed him. The man knelt down at the goban in the center of the room, surrounded by the other people who had been in the room earlier.

"Look, he went here, and then Yashiro played _there_," the man said, recreating the last moves he had seen the teenagers play. The men around him murmured to each other in confused whispers.

"Why would Yashiro make a move like that? Shindou would be able to cut his stones apart here unless he-"

"But if Yashiro attacked this side, wouldn't it be better to make a jump over here?"

"True, but Shindou made a _keima_ on this side. That means Yashiro should have responded at this spot-"

"But he played here instead. Aah, I don't understand those two!"

"Excuse me, but can you tell us how the game started?" Waya cut in.

"That's got to be the most unconventional set of opening moves I've ever seen," one of the men said. He pointed at the board. "See this? That was the first move."

"First hand at 5-5?" Waya gasped.

The man nodded. "And the second move was at _tengen."_

"Second hand at_ tengen?!"_ Both Waya and Ochi were completely floored. What kind of insanity was happening here?

"That's not all," said one of the other men. "The third move was also at 5-5."

From there, the explanations of how the game progressed made the two pros more and more flabbergasted. Seeing Shindou and Yashiro's game started to make Ochi doubt his own victory. He clenched his fists loosely, a distinct shadow falling over his face. No one noticed. If Yashiro could play Shindou in a game like this, then wouldn't he be better off as the third champion of Team Japan? Nobody had even congratulated him on his win. Ochi could almost feel his teeth grinding together in frustration. He had won, hadn't he? He had triumphed over the other players in the selection rounds, even Waya! Why didn't he feel satisfied, then, after watching the play-out of Shindou's game with Yashiro? His fists clenched tighter.

The proctor finally realized that the fact that Waya and Ochi were in the room meant that their game was finished. "Oh, congratulations on your win, Ochi," he said quickly. But the young boy could sense the dissatisfaction that the man felt that it was him and not Yashiro who would be the third champion. Ochi wanted to hit something. _Why_ did everyone look down at him with such… such… such _disappointment?_ He was a good player, too! He passed the pro exam with only _one_ loss, second to Shindou, and yet everyone bypassed him like he wasn't even there! It was always Shindou this or Touya that, and now some nameless Kansai pro shows up at the selection rounds and garners attention simply by starting with some unconventional moves? Words couldn't convey how Ochi felt at that moment, completely disillusioned by the reality of the situation. His victory felt hollow now.

The game finished with Shindou's victory. Yashiro was surprised that he didn't feel more disappointed at his loss, but he chalked it up to the game being by far his most challenging one yet. Shindou was a genius at this game. The younger boy offered him an apologetic smile, but Yashiro waved it off. "You earned your spot on the team, Shindou," he said, getting up and patting the other boy on the shoulder. "That was a great game. We should play another one sometime."

"Definitely," Shindou agreed. They cleaned up the goban and were about to leave when the proctor came in, tailed by a group of people.

"That was a magnificent game, both of you," the proctor said proudly. "It was a pity that you couldn't be on the team, Yashiro, but better luck next time."

"I thought the Hokuto Cup was only a one-time thing," said Yashiro, one eyebrow rising slightly.

"It is, but if everything goes well, there could be another one held next year."

"Hello, everyone!" The energetic photographer, Kosemura, entered the room with a bounce in his step. "Who're our remaining champions for the Hokuto Cup, eh?"

"They are Shindou Hikaru and Ochi Kousuke-" The proctor began, but he was interrupted when the latter boy stepped forward, a serious expression marring his young face. He sat down with his legs tucked underneath him, his hands clenched in his lap. Then he said something that surprised everyone in the room.

"I request a match with Yashiro to determine who the _real_ third champion of the Hokuto Cup should be." There was no waver in Ochi's tone as he delivered his request, only conviction. Waya stared at the mushroom-haired boy like he had grown two heads.

"But you _are_ the third champion, Ochi-kun," said the proctor. "You've earned your rightful spot on the team-"

"But nobody is satisfied with my win, right?" Ochi seemed to be trying his hardest not to raise his voice too much. "You all saw their game. It was on a whole other level than mine and Waya's. You can't tell me you aren't disappointed that it's me and not Yashiro who is the final member of the team." His fists tightened angrily. "So if I play a game with him, whoever wins must be the stronger professional, and therefore the one who deserves to be the third champion." He stared beseechingly at the frowning proctor, his lips set in a thin line. "Please allow me to play against Yashiro."

"What's the matter?" Togari, one of the administrators from Hokuto Cup Communications, entered the room with his assistant Aizawa in the tow. "Have our champions been decided?"

"Yes, Togari-san, but Ochi-kun here is requesting a match against Yashiro because he thinks he isn't completely fit to be the third champion," said the proctor reluctantly.

The tall man regarded the young boy with an appraising look. Ochi stared back defiantly. Togari pushed up his glasses with a small sigh. "It's alright," he told the surprised proctor. "I approve. We have enough time for another game, but it will have to be played on another day. Ochi-kun, Yashiro-kun, what do you say?"

The silver-haired teenager almost couldn't believe his ears. He was getting another chance to prove himself! "Tomorrow is fine with me," he said, jumping at the chance.

"I'm fine with it, too," said Ochi. "Thank you very much." He bowed to the organizer, who merely gave him a small smile and told him that he was glad Ochi was willing to ensure that the strongest players made it on to the team. The game was set up to be held the next day at 10 A.M. in the same room. Then they departed from the room.

"Shindou, what do you think of Ochi's decision?" Waya asked his friend as they headed to the train station together.

Shindou thought about it for a moment. "I'm kind of surprised that he would go that far, but I think he made a good decision. Yashiro is a pretty strong player, and unconventional to boot," he admitted.

"But no match for you, like I thought," Waya teased, slinging an arm around Shindou's shoulders and proceeding to give the other boy a noogie. Shindou loudly protested this action and swatted at his friend.

"Hey, stop that! I'm going to have a bald spot if you keep it up!"

"I think a bald spot would suit you better! Shindou the Bald Demon, I can imagine it now."

"That's not funny, Waya."

"It totally is. Can you imagine Touya with a bald spot?"

Shindou burst out laughing at the image, and Waya grinned, ignoring the twang in his heart. Deep inside him, Ochi's words echoed. And Waya felt guilty that while Ochi had been thinking of the team, he had only been thinking of himself, and how he had been glad he hadn't had to face either Yashiro or Shindou. Waya resolved to face any challenges without fear from now on, just like how he had seen the unwavering conviction in Ochi's eyes as he stared at both the proctor and Togari.

The next day, Ochi and Yashiro had their match. Ochi lost, but he felt absurdly content knowing that he had made the right choice for the team. Yashiro had been stronger than him after all. He didn't regret his decision. Even if he wasn't in the spotlight and getting the recognition he felt he deserved, he realized that there was no need to rush. He still had his whole life ahead of him.

So the next time he saw Touya in the lobby of the Tokyo Go Institute, listening to an animated Shindou talk about his bizarre game with Yashiro, he found that he didn't feel spiteful at all.

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm, that was actually a lot longer than I expected… I <strong>_**was**_** going to put an interaction between Hikaru and Ko Yeong-ha in this chapter, but I feel like that's better off in the next chapter, when the teams actually meet. And if any of you think this is exactly like canon, this part of the manga was actually a pivotal point for the growth of Ochi's character, as well as Yashiro's. I couldn't skip over something as important as this. It's not completely canon (Touya didn't drop by to see how Shindou was doing), but hope you enjoyed the chapter. It's un-betaed.**

**Writing this was actually kind of therapeutic for me. This college quarter has been crazy busy for me and two days ago I was so tired after my midterm that I flopped on to my dorm bed the moment I got back to my room and took a short nap. But well, I guess the reason this chapter came pretty fast was because I wanted to get another chapter up before my birthday****. And it happened. I really don't expect to write another chapter for a while, but since I seem to be on a roll, we'll see what happens.**

**Reviews are nice, but no flames.**

**MangaFreak15**


	11. CH 11: Hokuto Cup: Cause and Effect

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: Hikaru is a little more mature than in canon thanks to Sai's influence.**

**Status: 10 chapters, 241 reviews, 99,100 hits, 47 c2's, 613 favs, 730 alerts.**

**We've almost reached 100K hits?! *faints* Sorry, it's kind of short. Enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong><span>Miles Across the Universe<span>**_

* * *

><p><strong>XI. Hokuto Cup: Cause and Effect<strong>

* * *

><p>When he entered the room, Su-Young immediately noticed that there was something…<em>off<em> about Ko Yeong-ha. The auburn-haired Korean pro typically had a lazy smirk draped across his handsome face, but this time, he was sporting a Cheshire grin so wide, Su-Young wondered if all the go games had finally gone to the pro's head.

He hesitantly said, "You look pleased."

Yeong-ha's eyes swiveled to glance at the smaller boy, the Cheshire grin dropping into the familiar I'm-better-than-you-and-you-know-it smirk. "Do I really? I wouldn't have guessed," he drawled. He straightened up from his slouch in his chair, lacing his fingers together to prevent his hands from shaking too much. Su-Young gulped when he saw the excited fire that lit itself in Yeong-ha's eyes. "It's almost the day of the tournamnet," the eighteen year-old breathed.

The Hokuto Cup was less than a month away. Yeong-ha was excited to meet Shindou Hikaru, the boy who had been one of the top gossip topics amongst go players ever since his unbroken winning streak in the pro exam and his subsequent match with Touya Meijin in the New Shodan series. Yeong-ha only grew more impressed that there was finally a player of such a high caliber entering the pro world when he looked over all documented kifu of the boy's games. Shindou had even triumphed over Touya Akira in the Wakajishisen, even if only by half a moku. Touya Akira, Touya Meijin's son and the boy who players previously thought would be the star of the new generation, had _lost_. It had been a field day for the press.

Su-Young discreetly edged away as the older pro smiled in a shark-like fashion. He knew Yeong-ha was excited to meet the crazy Japanese boy who had been nicknamed "The Demon", but from the way he was acting, this went _beyond_ excited. Su-Young could almost imagine the game-lust in Yeong-ha's eyes.

"Yeah, uh, I'll be going now," the younger boy said hurriedly, fleeing from the room. He could hear Yeong-ha's deep laugh sounding behind him.

Yeong-ha laced his fingers together. "Come, Shindou Hikaru," he said out loud. "We shall see who is better, you or I."

* * *

><p>"So this is the Korean Go Institute," mused Kosemura, standing outside the building with his news-reporting buddies. He had flown to the foreign country from Japan in order to interview the three chosen players for Korea's Hokuto Cup team. He didn't know any Korean besides the most basic phrases and greetings, but since he had set up the interview beforehand, there should be a translator to help him. He turned partway to wave goodbye to his companions, who had said earlier that he should go ahead and do the interviews while they booked a hotel and handled some other things.<p>

The dark-haired reporter entered the building. A rush of cool air greeted him as he opened the doors. The people inside looked up in surprise as he went in - they probably weren't accustomed to foreigners coming into their institute. A middle-aged man walked towards him, asking something in Korean that he barely understood.

"Hi," Kosemura said, smiling. _"How are you doing?"_

The workers looked at each other in confusion, muttering amongst themselves. A man asked the middle-aged man something, and Kosemura thought he heard his name. Were they talking about him?

He tried to talk to them again, "I'm Kosemura, a reporter from the Japan Go Institute. Where can I find the Korean participants of the Hokuto Cup?"

They stared at him blankly. Kosemura absently scratched his head, wondering how he was supposed to communicate with these guys without a translator. Did their translator have the day off or something? Maybe they'd understand if he mentioned the participants' names.

He tried again, "Are Ko Yeong-ha, Hong Su-Young, and Im Il-hwan available? I would like to interview them."

Understanding dawned on the middle-aged man's face, and Kosemura secretly celebrated in his head. The man turned to his coworkers and began to speak quickly. A man in the back came rushing in waving his hand, and the middle-aged man looked relieved. He shouted something back. Kosemura wished he knew enough Korean to understand what they were talking about. It would make his job so much easier.

Suddenly the man turned to him with a displeased look and told him something in angry Korean. Being unable to understand him, all the reporter could say was a very intelligible, "Huh?"

The man scowled - apparently "huh" was a variant of the universal "I-wasn't-listening" sound - and beckoned for the reporter to follow him. Kosemura nodded and fell in line behind him. He hoped that if the man was taking him to one of the interviewees, they would at least have a translator there. Otherwise this whole trip would have been a waste of his time.

After traversing a maze of hallways that all looked the same to Kosemura, the middle-aged man knocked on one of the doors. This must be the room where the interviewees were. The short-haired reporter nearly vibrated in excitement.

However, when the door opened and they two of them entered followed by a couple other men, Kosemura was surprised to find a lone teenager lounging on a couch. The teenager had long, fiery auburn hair - he was Ko Yeong-ha, Korea's top go pro in the "18 and below" age group.

The middle-aged man approached Yeong-ha and began to speak to him quickly, gesturing at Kosemura a few times. Yeong-ha smirked. He sat up on the couch, turning to one of the men who had entered the room with Kosemura.

Kosemura frowned. "Why is Ko Yeong-ha the only one here? Where's Im Il-hwan and Hong Su-Young?" he asked. It would be a lot faster if he could interview all three at once.

The man Yeong-ha was talking to turned to him, speaking in slow, broken Japanese, "Im Il-hwan not here. Hong Su-Young not here. Ko Yeong-ha here. You hurry and start. You hurry and finish."

This man was their translator? He didn't seem to know Japanese well enough to be a proper translator. Was he a substitute or something? Oh well, as long as he was able to get his point across. Kosemura sat down on the opposite couch, feeling disgruntled. He might as well get this over with; at least one interviewee was available as opposed to none.

"Hi, my name is Kosemura, a reporter from the Japan Go Institute," he introduced himself briefly. He took a notebook and a pencil from his bag to record Yeong-ha's answers. "So, do you know who is representing China and Japan at the Hokuto Cup?"

The translator gave his question to the auburn-haired pro in Korean, and Yeong-ha replied. "I know," the translator said slowly. "Shindou Hikaru… I will play."

Kosemura nearly dropped his notebook at the unexpected answer. He had expected Yeong-ha to be interested in Touya Akira, not Shindou Hikaru. But this just made things more exciting! He scribbled in his notebook.

"Shindou Hikaru, huh? He's really strong," said the reporter, thinking back to the games he had seen the boy with two-toned hair play. "How did he catch your interest?"

"He strong," said the translator. "He unpredictable - make game exciting."

Kosemura nodded, hurriedly penciling in the answer. _If he thinks Shindou is strong…_ Kosemura thought, raising his eyes back up, _what does he think about Honinbou Shuusaku?_

The translator repeated the question back to Yeong-ha. "Of course know _Shuusaku_," said the translator. "Uh… he strong. But…"

Kosemura stopped writing as the translator trailed off. "But…?" he ventured.

"But Japan weak. No study Shuusaku," said the translator, his brows furrowing as he tried to translate Yeong-ha's words so the reporter could understand. "He dead. Outdated."

"_What?"_ Kosemura mouthed, his hand tightening around the pencil until it nearly snapped in half. "Shuusaku, outdated? How can you even say that? And Japan's not weak! We produce some of the strongest players in the Go world!"

"Japan weak. Japan no win," the translator repeated. "No study Shuusaku like Korea. Shindou Hikaru good - play like Shuusaku."

This translator had to be a substitute. His Japanese was awful. Kosemura perked up a bit at the praise aimed at Shindou. He was sure the boy would be happy to hear that he had been acknowledged by one of Korea's top players. He still hadn't forgiven Yeong-ha for the "outdated" comment though - unless the translator was wrong and Yeong-ha had actually said something else. Kosemura wanted to tear his hair out in frustration. Why hadn't he gone and learned Korean when he had the chance?

Yeong-ha said something else, then flopped back on the couch and resumed his relaxed pose. The translator got up from his chair, saying, "No more to say now. Interview over."

"What?" That was too short! Kosemura sighed and stood up. Hopefully he would be able to find the other two Korean representatives before he had to return to Japan.

* * *

><p>Back in Japan, Hikaru approached Touya after both of them finished their matches. "Touya," he called, getting his friend's attention.<p>

"Shindou," Touya greeted. "Do you need something?"

"I need to talk to you about something. Yashiro called me over the phone yesterday," said Hikaru.

"Yashiro?" Touya asked. Ah right, the third Hokuto Cup representative for Japan. "Is something wrong?"

"No, he just wanted to know if we'd be willing to practice with him before the Hokuto Cup," Hikaru explained. "I think it's a good idea. If we both agree, he'll be here three days before the actual tournament."

"Sounds good," Touya agreed. "Do you know where we'll be practicing?"

Hikaru rubbed his head sheepishly. "We haven't decided yet," he said. "Yashiro's probably going to be staying in a hotel, so I guess we can play our matches there."

Touya sighed. Trust Shindou not to think ahead. "We can practice at my house," he offered. "When you call him, tell him that it'll be okay to stay at my house for those three days."

"Your house? Are you sure?" asked Hikaru.

"Yes, I'll be the only one at home because my parents are still in China," answered Touya. "Food won't be a problem - we can just eat out since I doubt the three of us know how to cook."

"Not my area of expertise," Hikaru agreed. "I'd probably burn everyone's food and feed you guys charcoal."

"Better charcoal than a platter of questionable food," quipped Touya. "So it's decided then: we'll practice our games at my house."

Hikaru brightened as the proverbial light-bulb lit above his head. "Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't I stay at your house, too? That way we'll get loads more games and practice in," he said, excitement shining in his green eyes.

"That's true," Touya mused. "We'll need to call the Go Institute to have our schedules cleared up that week."

"Alright! I'll go call Yashiro right now," said Hikaru, moving towards the door.

"Shindou!" Touya's call stopped him in his tracks. The fifteen year-old turned to look at his friend with a quizzical look. Touya squared his shoulders and set his expression to determination. "We'll be representing the cream of the crop of Japan's youth in the Go world, so let's do our best."

Hikaru smiled and inclined his head. "Got it," he replied cheerfully. "I'll tell that to Yashiro, too."

* * *

><p>A few days later, Kosemura finally returned to Japan. His coworkers noticed the rather black mood he was in, compared to how bright and sunny he had been when he'd first gone to Korea.<p>

"Hey, Kosemura! How'd it go?"

Kosemura looked at his fellow Go Institute reporter with a look akin to a zombie, which made the dark-haired man take an involuntary step back. "That bad, huh?" he said, clapping a sympathetic hand on the reporter's shoulder. "What did they do to you?"

"It wasn't so much what they did as it was about what they said," Kosemura growled, clenching his fists. "I can't believe the nerve of him!"

"Erm, who are you talking abo - "

"Ko Yeong-ha! Do you know what he said in the interview?" the shorter man interrupted, his eyes blazing. "He said Shuusaku was outdated! He said Japan was weak!"

"That's not right," said his coworker in a low voice. "Shuusaku, outdated? Are you sure you heard right?"

"Well, it could have been the translator's fault," Kosemura admitted. "But still!"

"That can't have been the only things he said to you."

"No, he did say something interesting," Kosemura grumbled. "He's got his sights set on Shindou Hikaru, that demonic pro who's been splashed across the _Go Weekly_ front pages ever since his appearance at the pro exams."

"Going for the bigger prey, I guess," said his coworker. "Sometimes I still have a hard time believing that kid beat _Touya Akira_…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Kosemura, scratching his head. "It was only a half-moku loss, but a loss is still a loss."

His coworker nodded. "Anyways, it was Yeong-ha who said those words, right? No one else?" he asked.

"Yeah, but all the people at the Korea Go Institute gave me cold shoulder, too," muttered Kosemura dejectedly. "I wish learning a different language was as easy as saying 1-2-3. I couldn't understand any Korean and they couldn't understand me."

"If it was that easy, anybody could learn any language they wanted and it wouldn't be a challenge," said the coworker, shrugging.

"True, it would be boring, even if it would make my life so much easier. Anyways, I can't print Yeong-ha's words in the paper; I don't want to be responsible for the snowball effect that would cause. It's best to keep it a secret, don't you think?" said Kosemura, glancing at his coworker.

His coworker pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Of course, I think that's the best decision for now. Someone can always go back and ascertain if Yeong-ha actually said those words or not," he answered.

Kosemura was about to reply when he spotted Shindou walking towards the elevator. "Hey, Shindou!" he called loudly, catching the pro's attention.

The teenager blinked at him. "Oh, you're the _Go Weekly_ reporter," he said. "What's up?"

Kosemura made a beeline for him, forcefully clapping his hands on Shindou's shoulders, much to the boy's bemusement. "Don't you dare lose in the Hokuto Cup, Shindou!" he said firmly. "You've got to show those stuck-up Koreans that Japan isn't weak!"

"Hey, I thought we decided not to tell anyone!" yelled his coworker, rushing over to pull Kosemura away.

"I don't plan on losing to either China or Korea," said Shindou. "You mentioned 'stuck-up Koreans' - did something happen?"

"It's nothing!" said the coworker, trying to drag Kosemura away before he could reveal any more about the situation.

"It's not nothing!" spat Kosemura. "Listen, Shindou - there's a guy named Ko Yeong-ha who really wants to play against you in the Hokuto Cup. But he's got some nerve calling Japan weak! And do you know what else he said? He said that Honinbou Shuusaku was - mmrph!"

Before Kosemura could mention the rest, his coworker quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, making the shorter reporter flail his arms in protest.

"I'm sure it was just a big misunderstanding," the coworker said hastily, pasting a sheepish smile on his face. Shindou continued to remain perplexed by the men's strange behavior. "I think they were just teasing him, haha. I don't believe for a second that the Koreans meant anything - ouch!"

The coworker pulled his hand away, revealing a puffy red bite mark on his hand, courtesy of the furious reporter who now took a step towards Shindou. "I know what I heard! It might be the translator's fault, it might not! But the fact is that Ko Yeong-ha said that Honinbou Shuusaku is _outdated!"_ Kosemura shouted.

Shindou looked thunderstruck. His baffled expression was replaced by a cool façade, with his eyes like shards of ice. "Outdated?" he repeated. "Did the Koreans actually say that?"

"Yeah! They don't take us seriously at all! They think we're weak and the greatest player of all time is ancient and not worth studying - " Kosemura ranted. The coworker had had enough. The conversation was quickly spiraling out of control, so he grabbed Kosemura, ignoring the throbbing from his hand, and hauled him away.

"Don't listen to him, Shindou," said the coworker, shoving Kosemura towards the elevator. "It wasn't the Koreans who said it; it was Ko Yeong-ha. _Only_ him. This guy is blowing the story way out of the water."

"If you say so," Shindou replied dubiously, watching as the pair entered the elevator doors, their arguing cut off as the doors slid closed.

Ko Yeong-ha said Honinbou Shuusaku was outdated? Shindou frowned, turning towards the elevator in front of him. No go player worth their salt would ever demean Shuusaku in such a way. After all, Shuusaku was considered the greatest player that ever lived. Insulting Shuusaku meant insulting Sai, and Shindou wasn't going to take that lying down. The reporter had said it could have been the translator's fault, but what if it wasn't? If Yeong-ha had truly well and insulted Shuusaku, Shindou would _never_ forgive him. He would crush the Korean pro in the Hokuto Cup if he needed to, just to get his point across.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the long delay…again. But hey, it wasn't as long as my other absence! And… I know I said Hikaru and Yeong-ha's meeting was supposed to be this chapter, but then I looked up the manga. There's a whole bunch of stuff that happens between the preliminaries and the actual tournament, so their meeting is going to have to take a backseat for now. It'll come eventually!<strong>

**Now, review please! They make me happy. No flames, but I welcome constructive criticism.**

**MangaFreak15**


	12. CH 12: Hokuto Cup: Rectifying Mistakes

**Summary: **Shindou Hikaru never publicly made himself known to the Go world, preferring to stay in the shadows of NetGo. But even he knows he can't stay hidden forever, not when Sai disappears. It's time to fulfill the Go master's last wish.

**Note: Hikaru is a little more mature than in canon thanks to Sai's influence.**

**Oh hey, I actually updated. But I would like to say that I've already told you guys several times that I have CRAPPY update speed. Stop complaining. I can't churn out chapters in the blink of an eye. I have my own life to consider, and that takes precedence over fanfiction, frankly.**

**Some of you asked about the 'missing chapter twelve' (since this fic hasn't actually been updated since August). It was an author's note about SOPA that I took down when I realized it wasn't completely accurate.**

**Status: 11 chapters, 289 reviews, 138,145 hits, 52 c2's, 733 favs, 881 alerts.**

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><p><span><em><strong>Miles Across the Universe<strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>XII. Hokuto Cup: Rectifying Mistakes<strong>

* * *

><p>"…and you'll, of course, be first board, Touya-kun."<p>

"What? But… Kurata-san!" the go prodigy protested, standing up so quickly that he almost knocked his chair over. "Why am I first board when Shindou is stronger than I am?"

Kurata waved a chubby finger at him. "Shindou-kun might be stronger, Touya-kun, but you have more experience! I have faith that you'll be able to wipe those smug smirks off the faces of those arrogant Koreans… and then they will finally know the name of Kurata Atsushi, of Japan!" the overweight man proclaimed, clenching his fist in front of him.

"Shouldn't the team manager be more responsible?" Yashiro muttered, crossing his arms. "All he seems to care about is making the Koreans lose face in public."

Akira exhaled huffily. "If he really cared about that, he would make Shindou first board," he mumbled. "What do you think, Shindou?"

The blond-banged boy was silent, an uncharacteristic frown decorating his face. He looked up upon hearing Touya's inquiry. "…I agree that it is problematic for me to be second board," he said. "I want to beat Ko Yeong-ha, and I can only do that as first board." A dark look laced through his eyes as he said that.

Touya and Yashiro quickly exchanged brief looks. "Say Shindou, you never told us what's up with all this Yeong-ha business you're stuck on. You've never met the guy, right? What did he do to you that has you so upset?" Yashiro asked.

"You guys know Kosemura, right? From Go Weekly?" They both nodded, although Yashiro's was slightly more hesitant because he originated from the Kansai area. "Well, he went to Korea to interview their participants, and when he came back, he told me that Yeong-ha had insulted Shuusaku." His fingers dug into the fabric of his yellow shirt. "He called him 'outdated'."

"Outdated? _Shuusaku_?" Touya echoed, his eyebrows rising incredulously. Shuusaku was considered the greatest go player to have ever lived – to demean him was to insult the entire world of go. Were the Koreans truly so arrogant that they thought they were above him? True, Shuusaku's joseki were old, but every great go player in the present age still studied his methods, moves, and plays. This was no laughing matter.

Yashiro looked like he was going to say something, but then their manager cut in. "Ko Yeong-ha insulted Shuusaku, you say?" Kurata growled. "The nerve of them!" He continued to rant about the arrogant Koreans and how they weren't fit to be true go players if they didn't acknowledge Shuusaku as the legendary genius he had been. The three teenagers opted to tune him out completely, returning to their own conversation.

"You said Kosemura-san told you this?" Touya asked in a hushed voice, which could barely be heard over Kurata's irritated voice.

"When he returned from Korea," Shindou replied, nodding. His eyes narrowed as he recalled Kosemura's words. Yeong-ha would _pay_ for the slight to Shuusaku – to _Sai_ – but how could he deliver retribution to the Korean player if Touya was first board and not him?

"Are you sure it wasn't just a translation error?" Yashiro said doubtfully. "I mean, it can't be easy to convert Korean into Japanese and vice versa, you know what I mean?"

Touya agreed, "Yes, that is possible. The Go Associations should generally have at least one competent translator, but perhaps that person was busy or away when Kosemura-san arrived."

"You think so?" Shindou asked, his fingers tapping absently on the go board in front of him. It was a plausible reason, certainly…

"Yes, I do. Regardless, Shindou, I think you should clear this up before we actually play the official games. I don't want our actions to reflect badly on Japan if this turns out to only be a misunderstanding," Touya said.

"Alright," Shindou replied. Some of his ire at Yeong-ha died away at the suggestion. "I can't speak Korean, though. What if it's translated incorrectly again when I try to speak to him?"

Yashiro's brow furrowed, then he just shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Touya said, sending a dry glance at the white-haired teen. Shindou hid a grin.

"Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and one of the Korean players will know Japanese," he said, his gaze returning to the goban that they'd been using for practice games before Kurata had interrupted to announce their placements in the Hokuto Cup. "I hope you're right, Touya, but if it's a real slight, I'm not going to hold back. Yeong-ha _will_ pay."

Both Touya and Yashiro gazed silently at the other teenager, Kurata's words fading into the background. They exchanged quick looks again. "Shindou," Yashiro began, slightly hesitant. "I, uh – I'm not sure how to say this, but… you seem to be taking the insult rather personally, don't you think?" He scratched his cheek with the tip of his finger, looking anywhere but Shindou. That didn't come out as eloquently as he'd wanted to put it – it made him sound like he was accusing Shindou of some sort of heinous crime. "I mean, Shuusaku was a great player and all, and we revere him, but…" Yashiro struggled to find the correct words to say as Shindou's face went carefully blank, his green eyes shadowed with an unknown emotion.

Touya seemed to take pity on him, because he picked up where Yashiro left off, "What he means to say, Shindou, is that you speak as if you knew him personally." To his trained eyes, Touya didn't miss the slight flinch that Shindou made as he spoke. There was tension in his shoulders and his muscles, and his expression was guarded. Touya continued, "You speak of him as if he was a mentor to you, a mentor you knew as a real-life figure of authority in your life, someone so cherished that you can't bear to stand any insults to be thrown at them. But, considering that Honinbou Shuusaku was long dead before any of us were born, that can't be the case." Touya's gaze intensified. Shindou returned a cool glare of his own.

"Does it matter?" Shindou asked. Yashiro nearly winced at the frost coating the normally-cheerful boy's voice.

Touya was unfazed. "If we are going to be a team, we shouldn't have any secrets between us, Shindou," he replied. "Especially if we need to persuade Kurata-san to put you as first board." _Show me that you can be entrusted to play as first board._

Shindou sighed loudly, crossing his arms over his chest. He stared at the goban for a moment, lost in his thoughts. The black-and-white pattern on the board suddenly looked a lot more interesting. "You sure know how to pressure a guy, Touya," he finally said. The iciness that previously accompanied his voice was gone, replaced with weariness, resignation, and – at least, Yashiro thought so – a tiny hint of grief. "I can't… I can't tell you right now. Not yet. Maybe… maybe one day–"

_I'm so sorry, Hikaru. It was fun –_

He shuddered as the memory sprang up in his mind, as vivid and clear as the day it happened. He didn't even know that he had trailed off, and started to curl into himself. Yashiro and Touya both noticed the change, and, realizing that something was wrong, hurried to Shindou's side.

_No! No, no, no, no, __no!__ Sai! __Sai!__SAIIIII!_

He shivered, his breaths starting to come in short, sharp gasps.

"Shindou? Shindou, stay with us!" Touya said, gently shaking the teenager's shoulder. "What's wrong? Snap out of it!"

_Why did you leave me? You promised!_

"Shindou, man, what's going on? Come on, pull yourself together!"

_You promised we would find the Hand of God together!_

He couldn't breathe. Sai was disappearing in front of his eyes and _he couldn't do a fucking thing about it._

_You promised!_

An involuntary, half-strangled sob forced itself from his throat.

_YOU PROMISED!_

"_**SHINDOU!"**_

Touya's loud voice, tinged by fear and worry, finally broke through his thoughts. He started violently, gasping, and bolted upright, accidentally slamming his head against the underside of Yashiro's jaw. The silver-haired teen yelled an obscenity and tripped over backwards in his haste to get away. He fell to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs, cringing at the pain flaring in his chin and his backside.

Shindou didn't notice, too busy blinking at the goban and realizing that he was back in reality. He stiffened at the feel of his clammy hands and the stickiness of cooling sweat clinging to his neck. Oh god, did he just –

"I think–" Touya said, capturing Shindou's attention, "–that you need to see a doctor, Shindou. Did something traumatic happen in your past to make you react so severely to our probing?"

Yep, he did. He just had an attack in front of his _teammates._

Shindou took large gulps of air to help steady his breathing. Oh man, this was bad. How was he going to explain this to them? Maybe he should tell them about Sai. No, he couldn't do that. They couldn't know about him yet.

Yashiro gingerly stood from the floor, rubbing at his jaw tenderly. "That was one hell of a headbutt, Shindou," he groused, rejoining them. "Warn a guy next time, will you?"

"Sorry." His reply came out as more of a whisper, and he grimaced.

"I also think you owe us an explanation," Yashiro said, glaring down at him. "What the _fuck_ just happened, Shindou? Spill the beans. Right now."

"I… I can't…"

"Yashiro!" Touya admonished warningly. He turned back to Shindou. "If you don't want to say it right now, don't. However, we are your teammates. You can trust us."

Shindou nodded slowly, traces of his old self coming back. The pale pallor of his skin began to infuse with a healthier flush. "Thanks," he murmured. "One day, I definitely will tell you about it – no, about _him."_

"Him?" Yashiro echoed, looking very much confused. Touya had a sneaking suspicion he already knew who Shindou might be referring to, but unless Shindou confirmed it himself, it would only be a guess.

"Shindou-kun." The uncharacteristically serious and solemn voice of their team manager suddenly reminded the three teens that the man was still there. Simultaneously, they turned to look at him with deer-in-the-headlights looks. Kurata cleared his throat. "Do you understand now why I've put you as second board, not first? Although I was uninformed that you are suffering from a form of PTSD, with your current mindset, you would not be able to play a good game against Yeong-ha. The pressure to win would be too stressful on your mind."

Shindou looked away. "Sorry," he apologized quietly. "But if I'm going to be second board, then… Touya, you better win against him. Show him that Shuusaku is still considered the greatest go player in history. Show him not to mess with Japan." A familiar fire began to light in his green eyes.

With those words, the other two teenagers relaxed. Shindou was starting to recover from his little episode. "You had us scared there, idiot," Yashiro said, lightly punching Shindou in the shoulder. "Just come to us if you ever need help snapping out of it again, alright?"

Shindou smiled – a small, but genuine smile unlike his typical sunny grins. "Thanks, guys. You have no idea how much… how much your support means to me right now," he replied. "Now, let's play some games. We've lost a bunch of time already."

"Indeed," Touya agreed, sitting in the chair across the goban from his rival. His eyes sharpened, the intensity of game-mode concentration beginning to settle around him like a veil. Shindou met his challenge with a slightly-forced smirk. They didn't need to say anything to understand what they were trying to say to each other.

_Whatever happened to you in the past is the past. I'm your rival now. Concentrate on me, and the go games of today. Come at me, Shindou!_

_You're on, Touya. Thank you._

* * *

><p>The next day, Touya sought out Kosemura to ask the reporter about what he told Shindou. The reporter was slumped in a chair in the Go Weekly office, an angry, sulky expression gracing his face. His coworkers kept shooting him periodic looks, growing increasingly annoyed by the loud sighs and mini-rants about those "damn Korean bastards!" Touya's appearance in their office was unexpected, but a welcome surprise.<p>

"Kosemura-san," Touya said, getting the reporter's attention.

Kosemura sent a peevish glare in his direction, only to shoot up in his chair when he realized who had addressed him. "Touya-kun! How nice to see you! How can I help you today?" he asked, a half-hearted smile tugging at his thin lips.

Touya stopped a few feet away from him, looking decidedly displeased. Kosemura's smile faltered. "Kosemura-san, you visited Korea recently to interview their Hokuto Cup participant, yes?" The short man nodded slowly, unsure where the teenager was steering this conversation. "I would like an explanation on why you think the Koreans insulted Honinbou Shuusaku and why you saw fit to tell _Shindou_ about it."

Kosemura squirmed in his chair, feeling very much like one of those butterflies pinned to a display board in a museum. He gazed nervously around at his coworkers, who hadn't paused in their duties, but were definitely paying more attention to the two of them than they ought to. "Well, you see, Touya-kun—" he hedged, attempting to stall. Touya glared. "Aah! I'm sorry! But Yeong-ha really said Shuusaku was outdated and Japan was weak for studying him!" he squeaked.

"Did he actually say it himself, or was it an error made by the translator?" Touya pressed. "Honinbou Shuusaku is considered the greatest go player in history; the Koreans would be foolish not to respect him at all."

Kosemura looked uncomfortable, and mumbled something under his breath.

"I can't hear you, Kosemura-san." Touya's voice rang through the room with a steely edge.

"It was the translator!" Kosemura cried out, nearly flinging himself backwards just to get away from the intimidating boy. "I'm sorry, please don't kill me! He had really bad Japanese!"

"It was a translation error after all, then," Touya commented. "Their translator can't be so bad that you misunderstood him. Was he the only translator provided or available at the time?"

"I-I went a day early," Kosemura stammered. Now his coworkers were starting to give him the stink-eye for making such a rookie mistake. Amano in particular was frowning at him, his face conveying a single thought: _I will be having a word with you later, Kosemura-san._ Oh boy.

"Therein lies your problem, Kosemura-san," Touya said. Kosemura felt like a tiny ant being squished under the sole of Touya's shoe. "Correct me if I am wrong, but you should have set up an appointed day and time to talk to them, right?" The reporter nodded jerkily. "But, in your belief that it wouldn't be a bad idea to scope out the competition just a little bit early, you went to the Korean Go Institute a day ahead. Of course, because you were a day early, the Institute was most likely unprepared, having not expected you that day. They had to give you a substitute translator, whose poor Japanese caused you to believe that the Koreans disrespected Shuusaku. They did not allow you a second interview, so you were unable to verify whether their insult was true. You came back to Japan, solidifying your belief that the Koreans must have slighted Shuusaku after all. You must have told Shindou about it sometime afterward, because last night Yashiro, Kurata-san, and I heard it from him. What you told him has affected Shindou's state of mind. Kurata-san has placed him as second board to both avoid conflict with the Koreans and to lessen the pressure being placed on him. Do you see now what you have done, Kosemura-san?" Touya's eyes were like chips of frozen steel.

Kosemura felt ready to faint.

"Touya-kun," Amano called, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I apologize for interrupting, but we need to get back to work. I'll deal with this whole mess, don't you worry."

"Thank you, Amano-san," Touya said crisply, turning on his heel. "I hope your employees will not make this sort of mistake again."

"I will do my best to ensure that it doesn't," the bespectacled redhead said firmly. "Make sure you play your best, Touya-kun. For Japan."

"I will, sir. Have a good day," Touya said, heading towards the door.

Suddenly Kosemura remembered something. "W-wait!" Touya paused. "There was something else he said – he praised Shindou! Yeah, that's right, he said Shindou was a good player because – because he played like Shuusaku…" Kosemura trailed off, his eyes widening in realization. If that wasn't a statement that the Koreans _did_ respect Shuusaku after all, he didn't know what was. Oh shit.

Touya gave him an annoyed look before exiting the office. The door shut with a quiet click.

"As for you…" Amano turned to Kosemura. The younger and shorter man quavered. "We are going to have a nice, _long_ chat about proper reporting policies and procedures."

He was doomed.

* * *

><p>Shindou wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep, but a hand gently shaking his shoulder and telling him to wake up made him aware of the go stones digging uncomfortably into his cheek. He sat up, blinking his eyes blearily. A muffled snort sounded from his right, and it sounded like Yashiro. Someone handed him a damp washcloth to clean his face with.<p>

"Shindou, if you're going to sleep, at least use the couch," Touya said, exasperated. "Your face looks so ridiculous right now."

"Looks like someone played go on it," Yashiro snickered. "Shindou, you should go look in a mirror – you've got these huge go stone imprints in your cheek." He poked a finger into his cheek. "Like this."

Shindou was tempted to flip him the bird. "Whatever," he replied, yawning. "Mm, what time is it?"

"It's almost eight. Did you eat dinner yet?"

"I don't think so. I can't remember when I fell asleep," he answered, standing up and stretching. "But I'm pretty sure I didn't anything before I did."

"My mother left some leftovers for you. She probably didn't want to wake you up," Touya said, leading them to the kitchen.

Shindou brightened at the prospect of food, even though it was unlikely to be ramen. His stomach gurgled softly in agreement. Yashiro shot him an amused glance. Shindou responded with a disgruntled look.

"Anyways, Shindou, I talked to Kosemura-san today," Touya said, waving them towards the table. "He admitted that it was most likely a translation mistake. However, since the onus of interviewing Korea's Hokuto Cup participants fell to him, Kosemura-san decided to go to the Korean Institute a day before his appointment. As such, they were not prepared for him. Kosemura-san is the one at fault, not the Koreans."

"So they didn't insult Shuusaku? That's a relief," Yashiro said.

"We don't know if that is true or not," Touya said, taking the plate of leftovers from the fridge and reheating it for consumption. "But I'd say the chances of that are quite slim."

"Damn straight."

"Did he say anything else?" Shindou asked, gratefully accepting the plate of food that Touya offered to him.

"He did, although I'm not sure if that was also a translation error. Kosemura-san mentioned that the translator said that Yeong-ha praised you, Shindou. Yeong-ha apparently believes that you are a good player because you play like Shuusaku."

"I play… like Shuusaku?" Shindou echoed, his eyes going wide. He almost dropped the plate, but steadied himself at the last second. They had no idea how true that was. _Sai…_

Yashiro's eyebrows had nearly risen to his hairline. "Well, damn. If that's not a compliment, I don't know what is," he said, whistling.

Shindou finished off the last remnants of his meal and carried the plate to the sink. "You know what this means, guys," he said, turning around and grinning. Yashiro sported a similar grin. Touya merely arched an eyebrow, although the amusement in his eyes and the slight upward tilt of his lips indicated his excitement.

"Let's play!"

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><p><strong>Well, well, well. I told some people that I'd try to update over Spring Break, but when I opened this document, inspiration struck me out of the blue. So I've been typing like a madman, even though I should be studying for finals (which start tomorrow…).<strong>

**To everyone who asked about the 'missing chapter twelve' – if you didn't read my note above, I'll repeat it again: it was an author's note about SOPA that I took down because it wasn't completely accurate. What you've just read is the REAL chapter twelve.**

**I hope you leave a review, but please don't complain about how slow I update. I warned you way at the beginning that my update speed is CRAP. And I wasn't kidding.**

**See you next time.**

**MangaFreak15**


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